How To Protect The Ocean
SUFB 118: La Plata River Dolphin Profile
This week on Species Tuesday, I profile the La Plate River Dolphin because we spoke about the same species on yesterday's podcast, which was killed after people picked up the stranded dolphin and passed it around like a toy for every one on the beach to touch.
Today, I discuss why it is so unique and important to the local area and how the story we discussed yesterday was such a tragedy.
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Show Notes:
http://www.speakupforblue.com/session118
Well, come to the speaker for blue podcast session one hundred and eighteen Today is species Tuesday. So happy Tuesday to you. It's always an exciting day because we are going to cover What is called La Plata River dolphin? It's a river dolphin a unique river dolphin found only in South American Brazil Argentina in some parts of Uruguay It is also the dolphin that was the subject matter of this the past weekend's big story that a dolphin died Because speechgoers want to pet it and didn't put it back in the water which we covered yesterday's episode So today I thought we would learn more about that animal on today's episode of the speaker for blue podcast stay tuned Welcome to the speak up for blue podcast helping you get involved in ocean conservation and now here's your host He just discovered periscope and might be slightly addicted and drew lua Hey, everybody welcome back to another exciting episode of the speak up for blue podcast your voice for the ocean I'm your host Andrew luan founder speak up for blue calm marine ecologist and self-proclaimed ocean printer That's right. I'm an entrepreneur and everything I do as an entrepreneur in business is to help protect the ocean I just wanted to say a happy species Tuesday. This is a special species Tuesday because we're gonna find out about a dolphin That was the subject matter of this past weekend's big story in ocean news where a beach goers grabbed it off and out of well picked up a dolphin out of that they found on a beach out of resort and they basically picked it up and passed it around to be pet and Took selfies with it and took videos with it and essentially it died According to some beach goers in their arms other beach goers said that it was already dead regardless They passed this thing around it just freshly died died of dehydration according to the wildlife the wildlife foundation in Argentina and We covered it yesterday and because we covered it yesterday. I want to find out more about this dolphin I've never heard of this La Plata River dolphin often also known as French Hescana French Hescana dolphin It's and so today we're gonna find all about that but before before we do I wanted to just thank our the people who have been Supporting us through our patreon campaign our crowdfunding campaign. That is Chris and Claire Jeffert Ron and Judy as well as dr. Judith Judith wise. Thank you very much for supporting us throughout this entire time We just this last week. We just passed 80,000 downloads and we're just kind of continuing to increase our reach in the podcast on this podcast platform to really spread ocean conservation news awareness and Solutions to ocean issues that we are talking about As we talked about yesterday the ocean awareness was hey Let's respect animals and let's try and put them back in the ocean if we find them on the on the on the coast Or call the right authorities and we provided numbers and stuff and this is what we try and do we try and just educate people on Some some acts that are people should know better and some acts people don't know any better But really just to let people know we have to respect our animals We have to put them back in the ocean that we can do that through this audio platform, which is wonderful and next week I'm gonna start doing these shows live and recording them for the podcast community But I'm gonna start doing these episodes live on blab. I am so you want to maybe want to head on over to blab Dot I am I'm gonna start doing these shows live. Maybe we get some interaction with some of the members of this community and other members Who want to join this community through this live podcast and answer some questions about the story of that day? So anyway, thank you very much for your support if you want to support us you can go to speak up for blue.com forward slash Patreon P A T R E O N and you can just put in a monthly support Financial support and we have different Incentives for each level of support that you want to support us and of course our goal is to reach people in different platforms Not just the podcasting platform, but maybe the digital magazine platforms of video platforms in the future and so forth We have lots of fresh ideas But we need your help and we need your support and you can do so by you can help us out by going to our patreon And don't end supporting us through our patreon campaign So anyway, let's get to this episode because I'm excited to learn more about La Plata River dolphin also known as the French Scana French Scana dolphin, okay, the Latin name is Ponto porria blin ville and this is a dolphin that has been in is one of the rarest dolphins in South America And because it's so rare, there's really not much known about this dolphin It grows between four to five of four to six feet long and weighs up to 115 pounds average weight is usually about 90 pounds Its body is grayish brown color, but it's got a little bit of a pink underbelly with some of the pictures that I've seen That'll be up on the speak up for blue show notes speak up for blue comms forward slash session 118 But even though the Frances Frances can us dolphins are scarce It can be found in the Dolce River Dolce River D OCE River in Brazil and the Pennsylvania Valdez and Argentina can also be found on coastal waters off of Uruguay And this is the only species of river dolphins that can be found in rivers as well as coastal waters in the salt water So if you ever in South America and stop by La Plata River You can look deep enough into the river beds to find the La Plata River dolphin the species Of dolphin is one of the most recognized through it through its uniqueness and its ability to range in different habitats than most other dolphins So here's some top facts of the dolphin It's well known because it's used to build its habitat Because of where it chooses to build its habitats in the rivers. It's a very popular river In bridge that runs through Brazil and Argentina Despite other freshwater dolphins this particular dolphin has not adapted it has adapted to not only Freshwater living but it can also adapt to salt water living Which is kind of if you think about that it's kind of a benefit when it comes to feeding a reproduction and just avoiding predators You can come up. There's probably not many predators in the river systems other than humans But there's probably not very many predators and there's probably lots of food in those river systems because I would imagine they'd be rich in a lot of species And of course there it's near the Atlantic Ocean there on the Atlantic Ocean side This dolphin was recognized and recorded as a species in the early 1800s before this time It was commonly known as among Brazilians and knows in Argentina is often referred to as the French Iscana or Tonyna Tonyna with an age Tony TON INHA and is highly regarded among the cultures in this area Most understand and respect the living space of these dolphin making them one of the few that live in the in the river beds But who that are not facing extinction. However? This dolphin this particular dolphin is on the IUCN red list With 30 less than 30,000 species thought to be known Of course the feeding for the La Plata River dolphin Has the advantage of taking food from both rivers and ocean because because they don't dwell in both areas. So obviously This fact sheet that I'm kind of reading off of and I'm looking at is is from dolphins dolphins - world calm is Talking a lot about how they live in both areas and that seems to be a very big bonus for them Especially when it comes to feeding because what they'll do is they're known to eat wide variety of fish off the bottom of the river beds But they're also known to find squid shrimp and octopus that may be nearby in the coastal waters So they'll find their food Through a direct attack attack from predator to prey so no, that actually is a Pretty good way of ensuring that they have food all the time Is looking at the river beds as well as as the coast now water quality? I would imagine would play a big role in their survival in rivers as well as coastal waters. It gets influenced by a lot of coastal Development nutrients and just contaminants that get into the river system So those would probably make a bit play a big role in where they actually occur and why they occur I'm gonna try and find some information some research for research Thursdays on this particular dolphin as this seems to be a good theme And it's a good way to use that negative story that we use Monday To get more information on these on these species The second for reproduction the sexual maturity of La Plata river dolphin occurs at a much early age than most dolphins typically ranging between the years of Two and three this what they also give birth to their calves at an earlier time frame with the season being close to October in January This is because the change of seasons in the area causing the warmer times of the year to be best for breeding times The dolphins will remain pregnant for an average of ten months with their calves being nursed for an average of nine months after birth They will stay with their mothers for one or two years before they move into a slightly different Habitat okay, so the La Plata dolphin the river dolphin are known for its anatomy Specifically specifically they are a smaller dolphin Then most other common dolphin species usually never getting over Three to five feet and weighing approximately 90 pounds the males and females are typically around the same size Another feature of the dolphins is skinny and small nose as well as fins there While the body may seem to be a little stocky other characteristics are usually placed down to to size They are also lighter in color than most dolphins being a light brown because of the water in which they dwell in Some who have been who have seen these dolphins call them white ghosts because of their light features and looks So this is kind of just a little bit about La Plata dolphins little introduction to the dolphin known for its smaller size You know it was interesting in the the Articles that I read about the dolphin being picked up from the beach in Argentina. Everybody said oh, it's a baby dolphin Thinking that okay, maybe it was a common dolphin that we see or bottle nose dolphin that we that we typically think about when we think of dolphins No, this is a river dolphin It's La Plata river dolphin that usually only gets about 90 pounds and three to five feet Okay, I think I think they can weigh up to 115 pounds short stocky body thin Fins as well as a thin nose or rostrum. So, you know I Think knowing more about these species knowing that they're unique if the beach goers knew about these more about these species Which obviously they didn't They would say hey, maybe we should put it back if we know that they're on the IUCN red list We know that it's very They're they're very well liked by the local populations by the local human populations then hey Let's you know, let's keep them in the water as much as possible Let's try and save them and let's try and be more open about it So that's why we're learning today about La Plata river dolphin We're gonna put some pictures up on the species on the speak of blue website So that's speak up for blue calm for its last session 118 you'll get all the information you need there plus some links to some other resources that you can take a look and look up some never other species or even this species so Thank you very much for for listening to the speaker for blue podcast. I'm your host Andrew Lewin happy species Tuesday And happy Tuesday and remember respect your animals. I know this community will but respect your animals happy conservation you you you you (upbeat music)