Rare Pink Dolphin Photos

[Nomad559]

http://www.calcasieucharters.com/index.cfm/CFID/9661068/CFTOKEN/34686422/MenuItemID/125.htm

This extremely rare and beautiful "pink dolphin" was spotted and photographed by Capt. Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Service on June 24th, 2007 during a charter fishing trip on Calcasieu Lake south of Lake Charles, LA.



Rare Pink Dolphin Photo Gallery
http://www.calcasieucharters.com/index.cfm?act=imagegallery.cfm&name=Rare+Pink+Dolphin+Photo+Gallery

:)

[CatWoman]

1. I think Code Pink has a new mascot

:)

[yardwork]

2. Wow! Thank you!

[lpbk2713]

3. Any nuclear power plants in that area?

:shrug:

[CatWoman]

6. Mr. Burns' Power Plant

:)

[Patchuli]

34. That Rush thing makes me dizzy...eewu

Something about that fat, bald pasty white head going around and around and :puke:

[Fresh_Start]

4. is the pink dolphin an albino?

eom

[hlthe2b]

5. Lovely... but

I wonder if it won't be highly susceptible to sun-related cancers/injury...?

[Tellurian]

7. It's probably an albino.. notice the "pink" eye.

similar to a snow white rabbit, horse or dog.. all have pink skin..

s/he is a beauty, though... I hope s/he gets to live in relative peace.

[Whoa_Nelly]

12. Not an albino--the pink dolphions are considered the most intelligent

http://www.isptr-pard.org/dolphin.html

<snip>
Of the five freshwater species of dolphins in the world, the pink Amazon River dolphin, Inia geoffrensis, or "bufeo colorado” as they are known in Peru and “botos" as they known in in Brazil, are considered to be the most intelligent.

These friendly, sensitive, mammals with a brain capacity 40% larger than that of humans, who have lived in harmony with the people of the Amazon and its tributaries for centuries, now face extinction in some tributaries. What was considered to be one of the least threatened species of dolphins 20 years ago, has now become one of the most endangered species due to the accelerated and commercialized rape of the Amazon basin and the destruction of the South American tropical rainforest.



Mother with baby

[BrklynLib at work]

18. That does not have exactly the same appearance as the one in the OP.

It does not seem to be the same Pepto-Bismol pink, but rather have a pinkish hue to its grey skin and its eyes are not pink as in the OP.


Inia geoffrensis
(Pink Dolphin)

[Whoa_Nelly]

20. OK so I know nothing

I still think it is the pink river dolphin, and not an albino

http://www.amersol.edu.pe/ms/7th/7block/jungle_research/new_cards/14/report14hm.html



The Pink Dolphin lives in the Amazon Rainforest. It is usually found in the tributaries and main rivers of the Orinoco River systems in South America. This animal can stay summerged up to fifteen minutes in the rivers. Males sleep just below the surface and they come up to breathe as the reflex. The Pink Dolphin's body has adapted to the rivers of the Amazon.

[Maddy McCall]

26. Here is the link I posted earlier. It will answer your questions.

The albino bottlenose dolphin is a completely seperate species from the pink freshwater dolphin.

It's really interesting:

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/report/news/story?id=2920737

[BrklynLib at work]

28. Thanks. Good article.

It must have been an unbelievable experience to look into the water and see this incredible creature.

[Whoa_Nelly]

30. Thanks, Maddy!

:hi:

[intheflow]

44. Self-delete

:dunce:

[Maddy McCall]

22. It is an albino bottlenose dolphin.

The dolphin you discuss is a different species.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

32. sorry...

The image you use is not the same species -

The original posters pic is of a ocean-going bottle nosed dolphin.

also - what kind of behavioral studies have been done comparing river dolphins with other species?

Just asking.

BTW -- The original picture was taken in Louisiana - not in the Amazon River Basin.

[Tellurian]

19. Wonder how this one got from the Amazon to LA?

thanks for the link...

[tridim]

8. Use SPF 1000 friend. nt

[Maddy McCall]

9. Info about this pink dophin vs. pink species in other areas:

It was a confusing find considering the only species of truly pink dolphins are found in some of the fresh-water rivers of South America and they are on the verge of extinction. Rue correctly assumed the calf bottlenose dolphin that he saw swimming with its mother was an albino. But why the pink?

"Calf's don't have as much of a blubber layer, and without the gray coloration the blood is right at the surface," said Dagmar Fertl, a marine biologist for Geo-Marine, Inc. out of Dallas. "It's also possible that the animal could have been flushed.

"The water is warm down there and a calf is not going to be the best swimmer, so it could have looked even pinker because it had been working hard in the heat."

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/report/news/story?id=2920737

[Starbucks Anarchist]

10. Pepto-Flipper!

:D

[BrklynLib at work]

13. I spit on my keyboard..and it's all your fault!!!!!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

15. Sorry!

:rofl:

[Bluebear]

14. :)

[BrklynLib at work]

11. Incredible. I also hope she is allowed to live her life out in peace...

I agree that it is likely she may be more prone to skin cancer/radiation exposure problems.

[KansDem]

16. First it was pink elephants...now this...

I'd better cut back on the hooch! :hangover:

[TechBear_Seattle]

17. Wiki link, if anyone is interested

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inia_geoffrensis

[BrklynLib at work]

21. The OP pic has a dorsal fin...and much pinker than this description.

and that one looks pretty young....so it would not have developed the color yet.

The boto can vary in colour from a memorable bright pink colour through to a murky brown, grey, blue-grey or creamy white.<2> When young, the dolphins are a light grey and develop in colour later on. When they are excited or surprised, they become pinker - almost as if they are blushing. Adults are typically 2.5 metres (8 feet) in length and weigh 150 kilograms (330 pounds). The flippers are large compared with body size and are curved back. The Boto does not have a dorsal fin, though a bumpy raised ridge on the back shows the evolutionary remnants of one.

[Maddy McCall]

24. No, not the same dolphin.

The dolphin in the wiki article is a pink species in the Amazon, if I recall correctly.

This is an albino bottlenose dolphin calf...not at all the same species as the geoffrensis.

[TechBear_Seattle]

25. Ah, got it

Thanks for the clarification. :hi:

[KansDem]

23. "On Pink Dolphin Street"

Doesn't quite have the same ring...:shrug:

On Green Dolphin Street

[supernova]

27. Aww does he need sunscreen?

:D so cute. :D

[pitohui]

36. yes this pink is sun damage

in theory as an albino it would be white with pink eyes, this animal is suffering from sun damage, as maddy says in her posts above, this is an albino atlantic bottlenose dolphin, normally they are rather grey and this protects them in their life often spent in shallow waters and following boats

i have not been able to get to lake charles to see this one, has anyone else?

i am not even sure if it is still being seen

[lastliberalintexas]

42. I haven't heard of any other reported sightings, unfortunately

The Beaumont Enterprise had an article about the dolphin back in July-

""They're fairly rare," said Patricia Rosel, a marine biologist with NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Lafayette, La., said of the albinos.

There have been only three other confirmed sightings of albino dolphins in the last 15 years along the Gulf Coast, Rosel said. One was spotted near New Orleans and another south of Galveston.

No one has really studied albino dolphins because they are so rare, she said.

"What we know (about albinos), we infer from humans," she added. Generally, albinos don't inherit the normal pigment-producing genes and generally have fair skin, white hair and, in some cases, red eyes."


http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18562292

[AZBlue]

29. Oh the irony!

The pictures are hosted by a group that hunts and fishes! Well, let's hope they do so responsibly!!

NONETHELESS...the pictures brigtened my day and I've bookmarked and printed them. Thanks for the post!!

[pitohui]

37. not seeing the irony

if it were not for hunters and fishers, that entire area would be a chemical and refinery plant complex by now

this is a very heavily industrial area other than the swamps, marshes, and lakes

drive by lake charles on the interstate some time at night, that "westlake" portion is truly something scary

people who don't actually get out in the outdoors (hunters and fishers) don't preserve it, it's an irrelevance to them

[AZBlue]

40. From a post above:

"What was considered to be one of the least threatened species of dolphins 20 years ago, has now become one of the most endangered species due to the accelerated and commercialized rape of the Amazon basin and the destruction of the South American tropical rainforest."

Yes, industrialization has taken its toll but so have hunters - both are blamed worldwide for the pink dolphins' near-extinction. From treehugger.com: "The government in Brazil are planning a hydro-electric plant in the middle of their habitat, and hunting also threatens the animals. Their flesh is often used as bait, and only fins are used. Many dead and mutilated bodies are found, often with the hunters name carved in the animals back."

[Norrin Radd]

31. Name it Andie.

[PeaceNikki]

33. Beautiful! Everyone should see this!

[MoonRiver]

35. The pink dolphin is the official mascot of Hong Kong!

Beautiful!! :loveya:

[Oilwellian]

38. Beautiful

My husband has been seeing a white deer lately at his workplace...hopefully he'll capture a pic of it and I'll post it on DU when he does.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

39. They used to have a pink dolphin at the Fort Worth Zoo.

Back in the sixties, when I was a kid. I got a stuffed doll of it. I don't know which variety it was.

Which my parents later gave away without my permission in order to curry favor with some people.


(yeah I know they were messed up!!!)

:cry:

[proud patriot]

43. bummer about your little stuffed friend

:hug:

[Wiley50]

41. So long, And thanks For All The...er...Sushi! n/t