My name is Carioca and I live at Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, where my family has been residing since the beginning of time. It is in the nature of our species to stay in the places we are born in forever, so, I am a proud descendant of the very ones seen by the pioneers arriving in our country. We made such an impression on the first Portuguese setting foot in Rio that later we were used as a symbol on the city’s flag, and there we remain today, proudly representing Rio’s waters. French historian Jean de Léry, writing in the XVI century, said that the sea here was “muddled” with my people and when Sir Walter Briarly visited the region in mid-1800 he portrayed us flocking around.
I am, of
course, a gray dolphin.
We are called
“botos-cinzas”, “toninhas” or “golfinhos” in Portuguese and our scientific name
is Sotallia guianensis. We are
mammals and on average we weigh 80 kilos and measure 1.8 metres long. Speedwise,
we can reach 30 km per hour and we jump out of the water to communicate between
ourselves. Our backs are gray, varying from dark to light, but our bellies can
be white or rosy. Besides being elegant, gracious and beautiful, we are very
intelligent!
According to
my elders we used to enjoy about 28 square kilometers of the bay, but lately
food has become far more scarce, so we prefer to stay within a smaller
perimeter, where there still are plenty of trees around the waters.
Last February a
group of us was scouting near the huge bridge between Rio and Niteroi and, and since
we rarely go there, we made the news: our photo was stamped in newspapers,
magazines and on-line. I did not understand what the fuss was about, but my
companions explained that it is because we are becoming extinct. My family used
to number 1000 in the 1970’s, but nowadays is only around 40.
I have been
advised that the oceanographic department of Rio de Janeiro State University
(UERJ) has a project called “Maqua”
that monitors and identifies us by photographs—our dorsal fins are like human
fingerprints, each one has its very own characteristics. Much is being done to
protect us, but it is not enough. Our life expectancy is about 30 years; however,
pollution is steadily curbing our chances to survive.
Construction and
dredging around the bay causes the rivers that enter our waters come laden with
detritus. In addition, the heavy ship traffic (lined up merchant ships, those
huge tourist yachts!) destroys the oxygen in the water. This pollution also
damages our hormonal and reproductive systems.
The other
peril we face is running ashore or being caught by fishermen’s nets. Our
relatives that live on the neighboring Sepetiba Bay are being protected by the
project “Abrace o Boto Cinza” (hug the gray dolphin). Local fishermen, instead
of hunting us down, will take tourists around to watch the about 2,000 species
of my family there.
Despite our swiftly
diminishing numbers, we, the most Carioca of all dolphins, are not officially
listed as in danger of being extinct! Ways to help and more information about us
can be found at: maqua.uerj.br/botosbaia.html and institutobotocinza.org
foto: istoe
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