Two pink dolphins, an endangered species, were rescued from a tributary of the Rio Meta, a river in eastern Colombia where they were trapped by shallow water, the Colombian navy said on Monday.
A video released by this institution shows several uniformed officers transporting the mammals using a hammock, then specialists on the ground checking the condition of the animals, continuously spraying them with water.
Faced with the imminent risk of the death of these mammals, the experts acted quickly, equipped only with hammocks and fishing nets.
In about 17 minutes, they pulled the female and her calf out of the estuary where they were trapped, checked on their good health and finally released them in Caño Juriepe, located about 500 meters away, Erika said. Gomez, coordinator of the Omacha Foundation, which participated in the rescue operation near the Venezuelan border with security forces, environmental authorities and NGOs.
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The adult female weighed around 140 kg and her dolphin calf, also a female, weighed around 35 kg, said Gómez, also a biologist.
The habitat of the pink dolphin, or Inia geoffrensis of its scientific name, extends from Brazil to Venezuela, passing through Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.
It is an endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
For the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, "
fishermen (are) the main executioners of the pink dolphin in Colombia, a mammal that can reach 2.8 meters in length and weigh more than 220 kilos
".
But other factors also have their role to play in the gradual extinction of the pink dolphin in Colombia: mercury contamination of rivers, and global warming which causes changes in the flow of tributaries within their habitat.
