By Intern: Cassie Lloyd-Watson
The Amazon River Dolphin or Boto (Inia geoffrensis) is an iconic species with its pink skin, large beak and fascinating role in mythology. The species, which inhabits the basins of the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers, is unfortunately facing various threats which have resulted in its classification as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN. Some of these threats are not specific to the Botos, but rather affect a wide range of marine and terrestrial species in the Amazon: for example the loss of viable habitat and being accidentally killed as bycatch when fisherman deploy large nets. Interestingly, however, this species is also threatened by its own legend, which has its roots in the time of colonial rule.
A popular folk story from the area these dolphins inhabit says that, usually on the night of the full moon, male Botos emerge from the river and transform into handsome and elegant white men. These ‘men’, wearing hats to cover their blow holes, find a party taking place in a community along the riverside. At this party, they seduce and impregnate a local young woman. Before the sun rises, they return to the river and to their dolphin form. They will never go back to the community to see the woman or their child.
As interesting as this story is, the truth behind it is quite disturbing. The likelihood is this legend really covers up the reality of living under colonial rule, especially for indigenous women. These ‘dolphin-men’ were probably powerful men from the colonising groups, enacting their dominance over the women in these territories by rape and sexual assault. Even now, when a woman falls pregnant in this part of the world and isn’t willing to/cannot name the father (because she has been assaulted, or forced into prostitution), it will be said that her child is a ‘filho-do-boto’ (offspring of a dolphin). In fact, there is an NGO based in Brazil called ‘Associação Filhas do Boto Nunca Mais’ (direct translation: ‘Association Daughters of the Dolphin Never Again’) which aims to prevent sexual violence, and to help women who have been victims of it. Having demystified slightly the story of the pink dolphin, let’s consider how this folk tale manifests into a genuine threat to the survival of this species.
The impression that such a story gives about the river dolphin is that they possess some kind of charm or ability to captivate women. Although it is true that male Botos exhibit interesting behaviours to impress females, like beating the water with branches held in their mouths or holding live turtles aloft, their ability to transform and seduce a human woman is certainly far from the truth. Despite this, perfumes called ‘pusangas’ are regularly sold with the claim of functioning as love potions. These perfumes contain dolphin oil and body parts and are quite easily purchased from various markets in the region and internationally from online sellers too. Although the Amazon River Dolphin is protected by various laws in the countries it calls home, they are still routinely killed to produce these ‘pusangas’. Fisheries and aquaculture expert Manuel Soplín Bosmediano claims that the endangered status of the dolphins actually increases demand for such products, as it creates the sense that products made from Botos are a rarity, making them exclusive and therefore desirable.
It is estimated that 10,000 Amazon River Dolphins remain, and their population has decreased due to a culmination of factors: being hunted for the production of ‘pusangas’, suffering from an increasingly small area of habitat (with a rising amount of droughts in the region), more regularly being bycatch and being poached to be used as bait to catch the local delicacy (Piracatinga) catfish. Although the future currently looks bleak, the situation is not irreversible. Tighter control on the trafficking of animal products and stricter fishing regulations could really help this species – as could a very simple and obvious change in human behaviour… if only people could stop using dolphin oils to try to find love!
References:
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10831/50358152
https://uk.whales.org/2022/05/10/meet-the-legendary-pink-river-dolphins/
https://filhasdobotonuncamais.my.canva.site/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/amazon-river-dolphin
