More than 150 dolphins have died in the Brazilian Amazon within a week. Drought and heat are responsible for this; Water temperatures of over 39 degrees were previously measured in Lake Tefé. In late September, experts discovered carcasses of Amazon and Tucuxi dolphins, which are critically endangered (see video above).
Both species are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. An estimated ten percent of the dolphins are now used in Lake Tefé. The lake is located in the heart of the Amazon region in northwestern Brazil, at the mouth of the river of the same name in the Amazon. A severe drought and high temperatures had led to low water levels in rivers and fish kills. The death of the animals has consequences for the “entire local ecosystem”, warned Mariana Paschoalini Frias of the WWF.
Dolphins show how certain influences affect their environment. “What happens to them is also reflected in other species, including humans,” says Paschoalini Frias. The dry season in the Amazon has worsened this year due to the El Niño weather phenomenon. The average water temperature in Lake Tefé is around 32 degrees, most recently over 39 degrees was measured.
Emergency aid for the state
“What is happening to the dolphins is a warning that the Amazon region needs to be urgently protected and the fight against climate change needs to be stepped up,” said a statement from the environmental organization WWF. The Brazilian government sent emergency aid to the affected state at the end of September due to the drought. The majority of the four million inhabitants are indigenous. Fish are an important source of food for them, the rivers are transport routes. People mainly move through the Amazon and its tributaries by boat.
Source: Krone
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