Pink Dolphins Research Articles

Insights on the use of dolphins (boto, Inia geoffrensis and tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis) for bait in the piracatinga (Calophysus macropterus) fishery in the western Brazilian Amazon

In the Amazon Basin, the use of the pink dolphin or boto (Inia geoffrensis) for bait in the piracatinga (Calophysus macropterus) fishery was first detected in the year 2000. Since then, this artisanal fishery has become more prevalent as it requires only a few hours of work per night and provides immediate cash earnings. It is thus an attractive addition to (or replacement for) traditional fishing. Previous reports have noted the use of botos as bait, but stated that the most common bait used are caimans (Melanosuchus niger, Caiman crocodilus). Estimates of the number of dolphins killed based on fish landings have been proposed and an apparent decrease in sighting/survival of an artificially-marked boto population was observed. Although stocks/population estimates, trends and actual numbers of hunted dolphins are unknown, the conservation impacts of this activity are of concern. Between October 2010 and November 2011, research was conducted within an area with serious conflicts between dolphins and fishermen as well as intense fishing for piracatinga, i.e. in the lower Japurá River, on the border with the Mamirauá and Amanã Sustainable Development Reserves, where both boto and tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) are used for bait. One-hundred and fifty-seven monitoring surveys were carried out in eight key communities, confirming 114 piracatinga fishing events through direct monitoring and incognito surveys of fishing gear (gaiolas). Empirical evidence of the activity in gaiolas comprised pieces of bait, carcass remains, piracatinga provoked vomits and dolphin fished carcasses. Of those, 31.2% (n = 35) involved cetacean bait (91.4% I. geoffrensis, 8.58% S. fluviatilis), 68.7% (n = 77) caiman bait (96% M. niger, 4% C. crocodilus), and two fishing events used both types. These percentages may be higher/lower in other areas within and outside the Reserves. Given the increasing trend of the piracatinga fishery, the authors believe that precautionary measures for the conservation of Amazonian dolphins are urgently needed. Development of practical short-term solutions (e.g. offal-baited fish traps) and multispecies management together with law enforcement, incentives and educational programmes could allow the future transition of riverine communities from the piracatinga fishery to sustainable, higher income activities.

Study on Manufacturing of Tourist Hand Made Soap Motived Sightseeing Attractive Place in Gyeongsangnam-do

Gyeongsangnam-do possessed various sightseeing attractive place. We purposed to manufacture tourist hand-made soap expressing nine sightseeing attractive place. The nine place were sunrise of Ganjeolgot, Mongdol beach of Gangdong, whale sea-travel line, Daewangam park, simnidaebat field-milky way, national garden of Taehwa river, mallard duck pot of Usisan, hanging bridge of Daewangam and cheonma tomb. The other seven soaps were made by method of melt and pour except for hanging bridge of Daewangam by method of cold process and cheonma tomb by short time process. To express art in soap, seven soaps were made by embedding techniques except for mallard duck of Usisan and cheonma tomb using transparency techniques. Sunrise of Ganjeolgot expressed symbolically sunrise and hope mailbox. Mongdol beach of Gangdong expressed black gravel field and white breaking tide. Whale sea-travel line expressed contrastively blue sea and flock of pink dolphins. Daewongam park expressed harmonically green pine and blue sea possessing special rocks. simnidaebat field-milky way expressed as bamboo farm shining and breaking under night light. National garden of Taehwa river expressed harmonically life and nature. Mallard duck of Usisan expressed notably mallard duck using gray and brown color grounding in white color. Hanging bridge of Daewangam expressed hanging bridge crossing blue sea and green Daewangam. Cheonma tomb expressed big green tomb and horses. These tourist hand-made soap can be applied develop new tourist products based on old tourist products.

Positional Wildness: Amazonian Ribeirinhos, Pink Dolphins and Interspecies Affections

ABSTRACT Amazonian pink dolphins figure in local imaginations as – enchanted – beings that can take on the appearance of persons and have sexual relations with humans. In the context of traditional fishing, ribeirinhos establish connections with dolphins that can be driven by intense corporeal intimacy, as well as by mutual hostility. These ambivalent positional relations are expressed in contrasted personal characterisations of dolphins, which are ‘tame’ (mansos) or even ‘partners’ (parceiros, amigados) for some, but ‘wild beasts’ (bichos bravos) to others. This local form of relating to animals does not take ‘wildness’ or ‘tameness’ as static qualities of bodies or habitats, but as affective potentials that emerge or recede in consonance with often intimate, intersecting corporeal histories.

Learning through VR gaming with virtual pink dolphins for children with ASD

ABSTRACTAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder with different levels of severity. Although the exact causes of ASD is not yet known, nor is there a medical cure for ASD to date, special facilities and schools have been established to help individuals coping better and becoming more independent. With the advancement in Virtual Reality (VR) technology, there has been a greater depth of development of technology-enhanced game-based learning for children with ASD. This paper will describe our effort on virtual pink dolphins to assist children with ASD in their learning, at the same time, to avoid the use of physical pink dolphins which is a species endangered. A study on the use of a low-cost VR enabled pink dolphins game for children with ASD to learn direction following, psychomotor skills and hand-eye coordination will be reported.

Life Lessons, Leadership, and Enduring Friendships

Life Lessons, Leadership, and Enduring Friendships

Valoración estacional de las amenazas contra la conservación de Inia geoffrensis humboldltiana (Cetartiodactyla Iniidae) en la cuenca del Río Meta, Colombia

Introduction: As a consequence of population isolation by the presence of geomorphological barriers, dolphins from northern South America are subdivided into three species: I. geoffrensis (Amazon and Orinoco Rivers), I. boliviensis (Madeira River in Bolivia), and the recently described I. araguaiaensis inhabiting the hydrologic complex of the Araguaia –Tocantins Rivers in the northeastern Brazilian Amazon. The importance of pink dolphins at the ecosystems they inhabit is supported by: 1) its position as top predators in the food chain; 2) bioindicators for ecosystem health; 3) its cultural and mythological meaning for the local ethnic groups, such as Sikuanis from the Orinoco, and Ticuna for the Amazon; and 4) their economic value, mainly as a touristic attraction. The conservation status of Orinoquian populations of river dolphins ( i. g. humboldtiana ), has not been fully established. However, we know their populations are threatened by a series of human activities on both aquatic and terrestrial environments, affecting their occurrence across the basin. This research is part of an inter-institutional effort conducted between the Corporacion para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Area de Manejo Especial de la Macarena (CORMACARENA) and Fundacion Omacha, to monitor pink dolphin populations inhabiting the rivers: Meta, Manacacias, Yucao, and Cusiana, in order to identify conservation tensors affecting the species in the study area. Methods: We conducted a multitemporal study to determine anthropogenic threats affecting dolphin populations during two hydrologic periods along 317.2 km -1 across the middle Meta River basin. We calculated the degradation index for streams of continental waters and density of the river dolphins, developed by Gomez-Salazar et al. (2012). Water quality, habitat transformation, species exploitation, and the increment in number of human settlements were identified as the main conservation tensors in the analyzed area. Results: We obtained a high value in the index of degradation, with a potential increment in value through time. River confluences were identified as priority areas for the conservation of the species. The development of infrastructure projects on the main streams was identified as a future threat on freshwater ecosystems in the basin. Differences in hydrologic periods were identified as an important variable, not only affecting the ecological dynamic of the species, but also determining the anthropogenic tensors through time. Water quality, habitat modification, and species exploitation were particularly intense at low water level periods, while boat traffic, and fishing activities are more frequent at periods of high water levels in the region. Discussion and conclusions: For the Meta River, water quality and species exploitation appear to be the major tensors for dolphins and they may explain the low densities recorded for the area in comparison with densities reported for the Amazon basin. Even though, we consider this analysis is not definite and more samplings are necessary to confirm this hypothesis. Finally, river confluences were identified as conservation hot spots for dolphin populations. We point out on the importance of river dolphins as umbrella species, ideal to develop conservation strategies in the region. Key words: Degradation index, Meta River, threats and conservation, Tonina.

ENCHANTMENT EXPERIENCES AND THE RELATION BETWEEN THE MIRAÑA OF CUIÚ-CUIÚ AND THE PINK RIVER DOLPHIN (<i>Inia geoffrensis</i>)

This work seeks further clarification on the relationship between the Mirana of the Cuiu-Cuiu Indigenous Land, and its surroundings, and the pink river dolphin ( Inia geoffrensis ), regionally known as boto. We demonstrate, through the use of ethnographic methods and the theory of Amerindian Perspectivism, how this indigenous group from the medio Solimoes relates to the pink river dolphin and how their cosmology is linked to the predation practices, of this animal, used as bait for the capture of the picaratinga catfish ( Calophysus macropterus ). We seek to identify the reasons that lead fishermen to kill, or not to kill, botos. Demonstrating the unique ideas of the Mirana about the pink river dolphin, we intend to call attention to the importance of understanding and valuing the Amazonian cosmologies in the planning and execution of conservation initiatives in the region.

Enchantment of the dolphin

In mid-May 2013, word began to spread around the internet that India had declared dolphins to be “non-human persons”. These words did indeed appear in a circular issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests Central Zoo Authority as part of a text banning dolphinaria, although its interpretation is anything but easy: “Whereas…various scientists who have researched dolphin behavior have suggested that the unusually high intelligence as compared to other animals means that dolphins should be seen as non-human persons…the States Governments are advised to reject any such proposal for [dolphinaria]…”. Whatever meaning was intended, India has granted no such constitutional status to dolphins, nor indeed has anywhere else. Long ago, however, before science and the media could contribute toward any consideration of the cetacean condition, cultures around the world went farther and embraced the “humanness” of dolphins. Visitors to the Channel Islands National Park in California will no doubt have heard of how the Chumash Native Americans, who believe their ancestors originated on the island of Santa Cruz, regard dolphins as their brothers. Upon seeing their island becoming overpopulated, Hutash, the Earth Mother, decided to help the Chumash cross to the mainland via a rainbow bridge. As they crossed, some people fell into the ocean below. Hutash, fearing they might drown, saved them by turning them into dolphins, there-by making the Chumash and dolphins members of the same family. Jason Cressey (Rapa Nui Journal 1998; 12: 75–84) collected an astonishing anthology of beliefs and myths from across the Pacific in which humans and dolphins exchange their forms. For example, a belief of the Wurundjeri people of southeastern Australia maintains that after death their spirits transform into dolphins, who from the sea guide and assist their kin on land. Certain Maori tribes in southern New Zealand traditionally hold a similar belief. And in a myth told by the people of Groote Eylandt off the northern Australian coast, the reverse happens: dolphin souls become humans. Dinginjabana, the dolphin leader, jealous over his consort Ganadja's regard for the intellectually gifted shellfish, taunts them cruelly. Yet the wise mollusks enlist the protection of the tiger sharks. The souls of the dolphins killed in the sharks' attack – including Dinginjabana himself – turn into humans. Years later, Ganadja is overjoyed when she sees “human Dinginjabana” wading in the shallows, and she takes human form too, to be with him. A boto on his way to a dance. Cressey also found Micronesia to be replete with tales of dolphins taking human form. In a myth from Onotoa Island, some female dolphins, intoxicated by the perfume of a young man's hair oil, come to the beach in search of him. But things go wrong and the local men start killing the dolphins for food. The good-smelling lad spares one of the dolphins under his spear, and hides her, whereupon she transforms into a beautiful girl and eventually they fall in love. The village elders, concerned about this romance once it is discovered, are persuaded by the young dolphin-girl that all dolphins were once human, and the two are allowed to marry. The oddest tales, however, surround the pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis; locally known as the boto), whose home is the Amazon, Orinoco, Araguaia, and Tocantins river systems. Mark Cravalho (Ethnology 1999; 38: 47–58) and Candace Slater (Dance of the Dolphin 1994; Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press) both tell of a cross-cultural belief still held in the Amazon that “enchanted” male botos can, at night, take human form and appear at village fiestas. Dashingly dressed in white and excellent dancers, they set out to seduce young women, who find their charms irresistible. Even now, children born out of wedlock along those rivers, where wary mothers warn their daughters not to walk the shoreline, are said to be the offspring of the boto. Many cultures, of course, have regarded dolphins as no more than animals, and have regularly hunted them for food. Such dichotomy in human thinking is made nowhere more apparent than in Taiji Cove, Japan, where fishermen annually hunt dolphins, to the indignation of millions, many of whom see in the dolphin something more than just another animal. Perhaps this conflict, in which so much grief and anger is invested, is a signal that the time is fast approaching when we will have to sit down together as a global culture and decide what dolphins are and what they mean to us. I cannot help thinking that the creature that rolled on its side, and looked me in the eye as I peered over the front of a sailboat cutting through the summer sea, would have an opinion to share.

Breathing Life into a Dormant Statute: Using the Case of the Pink Dolphins to Forge a Path Forward for Environmental Legal Protections in Hong Kong

Breathing Life into a Dormant Statute: Using the Case of the Pink Dolphins to Forge a Path Forward for Environmental Legal Protections in Hong Kong

Ecologies of Comparison: An Ethnography of Endangerment in Hong Kong (review)

Tim Choy, Ecologies of Comparison: An Ethnography of Endangerment in Kong. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. 224 pp. Tim Choy begins his ethnographic journey through Kong's conservation groups in the heart of one of the country parks, where villagers are exercising their indigenous land rights to bulldoze a six-hectare tract of land in order to build a low-density housing complex and a golf course. Would Choy, at the risk of being seen as a meddling foreigner, side with the passionate environmentalists in their efforts to spare endangered animals' habitats the putting green? Or would he side with the villagers and their quaint traditions against the imperialist environmental activists, even though these may not amount to much more than a cynical land-grab to cash in on Kong's bellicose luxury real estate market? What follows is an exquisite anthropological account of how recent environmental campaigns in Kong resonate with social and political dilemmas surrounding its return to Chinese sovereignty. At the crux of these dilemmas is a preoccupation with the of Kong in relation to China and, more abstractly, principles of universalism and particularism. Just as discussions were getting under way about the future of Kong under Chinese sovereignty, so a language of endangerment mediated by a discourse on threat and uniqueness (dahksik, in Cantonese) fashioned Kong's various environmental campaigns. We learn, for example, of how the pink dolphin, unheard of by most Kong residents prior to the 1990s, became a national mascot at gala ceremonies marking Kong's return to China, chosen as a celebrated species because it was unique to the territory. And how the Tai O fishing village, remembered by older residents as a squalid repository of squatter settlements during Kong's raggedy development, became a site of nostalgia and tourism countering attempts to reconstruct its stilted houses (built in a style similar to those found in Malaysia). Most delightfully of all, we learn that the naming of Kong's flora and fauna reflects the distinctiveness with which Kong citizens see themselves in relation to their mainland counterparts; the awkwardly named Spiranthes Hongkongitis, a flower believed to be a genetically and reproductively distinct species in its own right...similar but distinct from (60) the Spiranthes Sinesis. Even more conveniently, the latter is thought by some botanists to be biologically the mother of the former-an obvious reference to China's relationship with Kong. The conservation motif need not stop with the environment, as Choy acknowledges. Academic departments in some of Kong's Universities have sought to reclaim Hong Kong studies and made them a focus of their programs. The democractic movement is also a conservation movement of sorts; an effort to forestall Kong's economic and political absorption by China. To this I would add that there is more than a kernel of conservationism in claims made by politicians the other end of the political spectrum; that Kong's resources will be depleted by migrants flooding over the Mainland and, more recently, other southeast Asian countries since Kong's courts have recently ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny the permanent right of abode to the 350,000 or so migrant domestic helpers the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. …

The Amazon River system as an ecological barrier driving genetic differentiation of the pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)

2 . Previous morphological and genetic studies have proposed the existence of at least two evolutionary significant units: one distributed across the Orinoco and Amazon basins and another confined to the Bolivian Amazon. The presence of barriers in the riverine environment has been suggested to play a significant role in shaping present-day patterns of ecological and genetic structure for this species. In the present study, we examined the phylogeographic structure, lineage divergence time and historical demography using mitochondrial (mt)DNA sequences in different pink dolphin populations distributed in large and small spatial scales, including two neighbouring Brazilian Amazon populations. mtDNA control region (CR) analysis revealed that the Brazilian haplotypes occupy an intermediate position compared to three previously studied geographic locations: the Colombian Amazon, the Colombian Orinoco, and the Bolivian Amazon. On a local scale, we have identified a pattern of maternal isolation between two neighbouring populations from Brazil. Six mtDNA CR haplotypes were identified in Brazil with no sharing between the two populations, as well as specific cytochrome b (cyt b) haplotypes identified in each locality. In addition, we analyzed autosomal microsatellites to investigate male-mediated gene flow and demographic changes within the study area in Brazil. Data analysis of 14 microsatellite loci failed to detect significant population subdivision, suggesting that male-mediated gene flow may maintain homogeneity between these two locations. Moreover, both mtDNA and microsatellite data indicate a major demographic collapse within Brazil in the late Pleistocene. Bayesian skyline plots (BSP) of mtDNA data revealed a stable population for Colombian and Brazilian Amazon lineages through time, whereas a population decline was demonstrated in the Colombian Orinoco lineage. Moreover, BSP and Tajima's D and Fu's Fs tests revealed a recent population expansion exclusively in the Bolivian sample. Finally, we estimated that the diversification of the Inia sp. lineage began in the Late Pliocene (approximately 3.1 Mya) and continued throughout the Pleistocene. Published 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102, 812-827.

Cage by Astrid Cabral, Alexis Levitin

VERSE Astrid Cabral. Cage. Alexis Levitin, tr. Austin, Texas. Host. 2008. v + 91 pages. $12. isbn978-0-924047-44-2 A native ofManaus, the capital city of the State of Amazonas in north ern Brazil, Astrid Cabral is a widely acclaimed poet, short-story writer, and literary critic. She was one of the leading names in theClube da Madrugada (Club ofDawn), a liter ary movement that, in the 1950s, finally brought the aesthetic inno vations of Brazilian modernism to the Amazonian region. This resulted in a formal renewal of Amazonian literature and sparked new inter est in the local culture and reality as literary themes. Cabral's oeuvre is influenced by the reality of her native land, especially the omni present Amazon River, its flora and fauna. Her writings also express her concern for the environment and a keen awareness of how human beings and nature are irrevocably bound together. This awareness is quite visi ble inCage, a personal bestiary that reveals the poet's curiosity toward animals, theway they live and act, and how theysurprisingly resemble human beings or, conversely, how human behavior often resembles that of animals. Cabral writes about oxen, jaguars, lizards, flamingos, the pink dolphin of theAmazon River, and insects as well as dragons, two faced dogs, and other beasts. By observing these creatures that lie outside, in her backyard or in the jungle, Cabral weaves with careful and concise language some insight ful observations about the beasts that liewithin us. The poet shows that the beast may be our own fears and desires, as in "Cao bifronte" (Two-faced dog) or in "A fera" (The beast), inwhich Thanatos duels with Eros through out a lifetime,finallydefeating love and the poet herself: "ate que se apossou de vez do amado / e com a bocarra de sangue manchada / riu e gozou com a minha solid?o" (until he took control for good of theone I loved / and with his wide mouth stainedwith blood / laughed and mocked my solitude). Here the image of the beast embodies very intimate feelings (itmay be read as an expression of grief for thedeath ofCabral's husband), while inother poems, such as "Cave Canem," the beast is the poet's angry voice "howling" against "cages of cour tesy" and for social justice. Cabral's bestiary is wide and varied, as are the emotions and reflections on exis tence it conveys. The bilingual Portuguese-Eng lishedition allows thereader to fully appreciate the poet's simple, clear, and precise language, a true poetics of no excess. Alexis Levitin's trans lations are competent and demon stratehis attention to the sounds of words and taste for rhymes, as in C. R CAVAFY I II I. I \ I I \ I s II I !) I' () I. \I S the firstcngtisk translation, with DANIEL MENDELSOHN the opening poem, "Laura's Magic." At times, however, the English lan guage is not able to reach the same degree of conciseness as the original poems. Nevertheless, this is a pre cious littlebook, a cage fullofwon derful and surprising creatures. Cristina Ferreira Pinto-Bailey Washington& Lee University introduction andcommentary, by C. P. Cavafy. Collected Poems. Dan- E iel Mendelsohn, tr. New York. Knopf. E 2009. Ixi + 547 pages. $35. isbn 978-0- | 375-40096-4 1 -. The Unfinished Poems. Dan- E iel Mendelsohn, tr. New York. Knopf. E 2009. xviii + 121 pages. $30. isbn 978- | 0-307-26546-3 1 It seems likely that theAlexandri- E an Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, E whose standards forauthoring and E publishing his own poems were E exacting, would feel that his crite- E ria had been met by Daniel Men- E delsohn's translation intoEnglish of E all ofCavafy's poems, including the E collected and "unfinished" verse. E Mendelsohn isuniquely qualified to E render thesepoems intoEnglish, for E he is both a scholar and a linguist, E I^H September-October 2009 i69 ...