Dolphins are intelligent and charismatic animals that have managed to win the affection and popularity of many people, but sadly they have suffered many casualties in recent years due to different reasons which we will explain in depth in this article. Learn why the dolphin is in danger of extinction. Don't stop reading it!
The Dolphins
Dolphins are aquatic mammals, they are considered highly intelligent species since they have a highly developed neurological system that allows them to be agile and have a good memory. At the moment of resting they are able to turn off only part of their brain, they do this because they need their body to function and meet basic requirements such as breathing and at the same time to be aware of possible threats.
To be able to breathe, dolphins have a hole in the upper part of their body called a spiracle, they use it when going to the surface, they only have to take a little air which will go down the trachea and go directly to their lungs. For this reason, dolphins are considered to be mammalian animals since they need to be able to breathe air, only unlike land animals, dolphins do so every so often a day.
Why are dolphins in danger of extinction?
Currently, dolphins have suffered great casualties in recent years, even leaving species officially extinct and others in danger of extinction or vulnerable. Today there are 41 different species of dolphins, each one with a different population status, but the reality is that various species became extinct, leaving others to be the next if this does not stop.
Causes
The causes are diverse, but we can summarize that most of them are due to the behavior of the human being, sadly the causes of their possible extinction are due to actions made by people that can be commercial, industrial or sometimes you could say that it has become part of our lives to carry out actions that harm the lives of other species without even knowing it, so we will explain in detail the causes of the possible extinction of several dolphins.
Contamination
Dolphins suffer from various types of pollution such as chemical or acoustic. Chemical contamination is mainly based on all those components coming from the manufacturing of products by industries, many of these factories are near the sea and take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of waste by throwing it into the sea causing dolphins and even other aquatic animals suffer serious health problems.
Oil is also part of the contamination due to industry and human consumption, as such, dolphins can be contaminated due to the poisoning of their food since they are in the food hierarchy as large predators, so by contaminating the water We also contaminate their food, resulting in the dolphin becoming intoxicated and, in many cases, ending its life.
Pollution can vary and can also be acoustic, it is something that perhaps not many people are familiar with, but the truth is that sound plays a great role when it comes to the extinction of dolphins. Boat engines, navigation systems, forced waves can cause serious problems for the dolphin that cannot orient itself, locate itself or communicate, affecting its reproductive cycle, its feeding completely changing its emigration plans by changing the natural sound waves achieving getting sidetracked and affecting your everyday life.
Contamination can also be made use of elements left in the water that can be both by accident and at the same time not, that can cause serious injuries to these aquatic mammals, an example of this could be that they become entangled in fishing nets that are found thrown at sea, they can even be hit by different types of heavy elements that can even cause their possible death.
Dolphin Hunting and Capture
Dolphins for many are considered sacred animals, but for others it has become the best way to earn money and the two existing possibilities to do so are hunting them for trade or capturing them to contribute to the entertainment of people such as being in an aquarium.
Although laws have been developed that take care of the welfare of dolphins, there are currently many countries that continue with practices that harm the number of their population, a business that is still very active in some Asian countries is the meat trade. of dolphins, although it is illegal, many people continue to see it as a potential business, which is why hunting for this purpose is furtive and has had no end.
The trade of its meat for the preparation of exquisite food dishes turns out to be a bit contradictory because it has been shown that dolphin meat is not suitable for human consumption, however many countries continue to be large consumers of dolphin meat. Therefore, a prompt disappearance of this practice is not predicted, with Japan being one of the biggest promoters of the purchase of dolphins.
Other dolphins are captured to be able to serve in human entertainment as part of family activities, but the truth is that in the capture of many of them things do not usually go well, when they are captured by the fishing net many of them end up entangled causing serious physical damage to them, sadly in many of these captures the dolphins have ended up dead so they are discarded and they look for others to capture which several may run with the same fate.
Some dolphins are captured alive, but their life will be from that moment in captivity since dolphins are famous animals among people thanks to their great charisma and personality, but all this is because it has become normal for dolphins to found in aquariums living in complete captivity, reaching their depression since a complete change in their normal life has been caused, dolphins are animals that enjoy freedom in their wild state, so these types of changes can be very shocking to them.
Environmental Changes
The habitat of dolphins has changed drastically like that of many species, dolphins have suffered many climatic changes and food shortages due to the disappearance and contamination of their prey, the little food available is difficult to acquire due to the competition with other predators such as whales or sharks so many have starved to death, if they get food they only get what is necessary to survive.
This point is deeply rooted with the first because global warming, climate change and food shortages are due to the influence of human beings by modifying and using the earth's resources in a massive way, resulting in an imbalance in the ecosystem, the main affected being the other living beings that inhabit the land and the sea, in this case one of the dolphins, since we have modified its habitat, making it a difficult place, very hard to live in, causing as a consequence the contribution to the extinction of this animal.
Each cause that has been mentioned has left a huge mark on the extinction of dolphins, they have been very hard blows for the population of dolphins that continues to drop in population number, so we will talk about some species that are They are sadly declared in danger of extinction.
Endangered Dolphins
Many of these dolphins have suffered enormous population declines, the causes are diverse between each of them, most have laws that contribute to the protection of their species, but the changes that have been made unfortunately for many have not been as effective as they were desired so we will talk a little about each of them.
Hector Dolphin
Originally from New Zealand, this dolphin is currently the one that most suffers from the threat of extinction. Its population in recent years has dropped more than 50% at the population level, being officially named as an endangered species.
irrawadi river dolphin
This dolphin is often confused for a freshwater dolphin due to the word "river" in its name, it really is a dolphin that swims in the ocean, but sometimes it usually swims to the rivers that are around it, being one of the most frequented the Irrawaddy River. sadly this dolphin has not exceeded more than 100 specimens, the main cause of its decline is due to deaths due to accidents with fishermen.
Amazon River Dolphin
This dolphin is one of the most exotic that can exist among its species, it is located in the Amazon River and is famous due to the color of its skin that, compared to other dolphins, comes out of the normal patterns and sports a beautiful skin. pink. It is declared in danger of extinction due to the great contamination that it suffers daily due to extraction in gold mines, mercury has become a very recurrent material in rivers causing enormous losses of this species.
Ganges River Dolphin
freshwater dolphin, lives in the rivers Nepal, Bangladesh and India, specifically it can be seen swimming in the rivers of Brahmaputra or Ganges. This dolphin is completely blind, but it has the ability to identify light, being one of its greatest characteristics. Their population has drastically decreased due to pollution and bycatch.
Can they be saved?
At present this problem has gained more strength in terms of voice to be a great wake-up call to the masses, but unfortunately the problem is very advanced and collaborations or support despite the fact that the truth grows more every day it is that it continues to compete with the actions that are causing many dolphins to die daily, so it could be very difficult to exterminate the root problem.
Despite this, in some cases an improvement has been seen thanks to the efforts of many people to change the panorama of these species of dolphins so that a ray of hope could still be seen, not for all the species of dolphins that are are in danger of extinction, but there are those that can still be helped and prevent the same fate for others.
Do not leave without first reading the following articles:
Marine animals
Discover the Best Known Animals of Patagonia