The Amazon Pink River Dolphin

The Amazon pink river dolphin is a really cool animal. Adults, especially males, actually turn pink! The dolphins start off gray when they are young and slowly turn pink as they get older. Their final color can depend on their behavior, diet and exposure to sunlight. These dolphins can be anywhere from mostly gray with some pink spots, to almost flamingo pink. When pink river dolphins get excited, they can turn bright pink, similar to humans blushing!

Pink river dolphins are a species of toothed whale found in freshwater rivers and lakes throughout six countries in South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Pink river dolphins eat a wide variety of things including turtles, crabs and more than 53 different kinds of fish!

There are five different species of freshwater dolphins, but the pink river dolphin is the largest and the smartest. They can measure up to 9 feet long and weigh 400 pounds. They also have really large brains. Pink river dolphins prefer to live alone or in small groups of two to four animals. There are many South American legends about the pink river dolphin being magical. One story says they turn into handsome men in the night! Another says pink river dolphins can whisk swimmers away to magical underwater cities. It has long been considered bad luck to harm them. 

Cool Fact: Pink river dolphins can live to be 30 years old!