A report recently published by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), highlights that all four known freshwater dolphin species including the tucuxi dolphin in the Amazon river system, are now threatened with extinction.
The impact of human activity is a driver for many species nearing extinction and the tucuxi population (a small grey dolphin found in the Amazon River system) has been “severely depleted” by deaths linked to fishing gear, damming rivers and pollution. The priority actions to recover the species include eliminating the use of gillnets. Previously there wasn’t enough information to determine its status and vulnerability.
The “red list” breaks down threatened species into vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered categories — the last of these meaning those closest to extinction.
