We would like to inform you that 'Rancho Texas Lanzarote Park' has joined other international entities, associations and institutions that have formed the emergency rescue team for river dolphins in Lake Tefé, in the Brazilian Amazon.
In recent weeks, some 130 corpses of two species of dolphins, the Amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) and the Tucuxi dolphins (Sotalia fluviatilis), have appeared, representing approximately ten percent of the river dolphin population in that region.
Dr. Miriam Marmontel, from the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, has taken the lead in the investigation into the causes of this mortality and the team needed to take measures to protect the remaining dolphins.
Rancho Texas involved in the rescue team
For this purpose, an emergency rescue plan has been launched with the participation of the Organization for the Conservation of Aquatic Mammals in South America Yaqu Pacha, the National Marine Mammal Foundation (United States), the Nuremberg Zoo (Germany) and the Association of friends of said center, Zoomarine (Portugal), Planète Sauvage (France), the European Association for Aquatic Mammals, the Mundo Marino Foundation (Argentina), as well as the Oceanogràfic of Valencia, the Loro Parque Foundation and Rancho Texas Lanzarote Park.
All these organizations have joined forces to support the urgent rescue operation, providing essential financial resources and deploying expert veterinarians from zoos in South America, the United States and Europe, as well as coordinating veterinary care in the area. Efforts also include the launch of a donation campaign to support this critical mission.
This joint effort of institutions and veterinary experts aims to save the river dolphins and conduct scientific research to address the cause of mortality. Their contribution will be essential to preserve this endangered species in Lake Tefé and the Brazilian Amazon.
The alarming mortality rate is initially attributed to the increase in water temperature, which has reached up to 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, although other factors are still being studied.
