Rivers and lakes in the Amazon are reaching record lows, scientists say (Picture: Reuters/Getty)
At least 120 Amazon river dolphins have died in the Brazillian Amazon rainforest amid a scorching drought browning the region.
With heat in the high 30s bearing down, locals along the remote town of Tefé were staggered to see the bodies of endangered dolphins washing ashore.
Researchers told the Brazillian news agency Agência Pública that this year’s especially hot ‘Amazonian summer’ has sucked streams flowing into the Solimões River dry.
Across just three days last week, dozens of dead dolphins were beached or spotted floating in Lake Tefé, about 330 miles west of Manaus, Amazonas.
Vultures have been seen picking at their bodies, researchers say, adding that the remains dolphins appear disoriented.
Around 1,400 river dolphins call Tefé their home, Miriam Marmontel, a researcher from the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development which is leading an investigation into the deaths, said.
Many tributaries flowing into the Amazon River have been emptied by the heat (Picture: Reuters)
Getting around the drought-hit rivers, such as the Furo do Paracuuba, a small branch of the Amazon River that connects with the Negro River, is difficult (Picture: Getty Images)
The high temperatures have especially hit Lake Tefé, devastating the dolphin population and many of the waterfront communities (Picture: Reuters)
‘We have around 900 river dolphins and 500 Tucuxis and in one week we have already lost around 120 animals between the two of them, which could represent 5% to 10% of the population,’ he added.
The Brazilian government’s Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation has sent veterinarians and aquatic mammal experts to the scene.
Ayan Fleischmann, a Mamirauá engineer, told Agência Pública that the lake has been turned into a hot bath by the drought.
On September 28, the lake saw temperatures of 39.1°C at a time when the mercury tends to be 10 degrees lower.
Fleischmann said: ‘Until August the river level was below average but within expectations. It arrived in September, it plummeted.
‘The level of Solimões began to decrease by 30cm per day, we even had to install a new ruler to measure the water level.’
With the region now harder to get around, some local communities are becoming more isolated (Picture: Getty Images)
Researchers aren’t certain whether the Amazon may ever recover from years of deforestation and climate change (Picture: Reuters)
The Amazon River dolphin is an endangered species (Picture: Reuters)
Fleischmann said it’s ‘too early’ to know what is causing the abnormally high dolphin mortality rate, but the heat and dryness are likely to blame.
Climate change and El Niño, a cyclical climate phenomenon that brings warmer temperatures with it, have sent the mercury soaring.
However, disease and infection could be playing a part in the deaths, meaning researchers can’t relocate the remaining dolphins until it is ruled out.
The river level of Solimões tends to reach its lowest point in mid-October, he added, meaning the decrease will likely continue for at least two weeks.
‘We expect another month of crisis,’ Fleischmann said.
While the lakewater cooled slightly to 36.5°C on Tuesday, Mamirauá scientists remained concerned that the heat will continue to impact the dolphins.
Scientists believe the high temperatures and climate change are behind the dolphin deaths but have no ruled out disease or infection (Picture: Reuters)
Waterfront communities have also been shaken by the drought which has cut off waterways once used to get around and transport food and drinking water.
Many villages and towns are dependent on the Amazon River dolphin for tourism, with some local legends claiming the mammals morph into handsome men known as ‘boto encantado’ to impregnate women.
State officials have declared an up to 180-day-long state of emergency for 55 of the region’s municipalities, while the government has set up a task force to get aid to heat-stricken areas.
Amazon River dolphins, also called Inia, are known for their striking pink colour and are the smartest out of the five freshwater dolphin species.
They are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global environmental organisation.
Pollution, oil and gas drilling and war, among others, are driving their extinction.
The ICUN says: ‘Longstanding threats to Inia include incidental mortality in fishing gear, deliberate killing for fish bait or predator control, damming of rivers and environmental pollution.’
A state of emergency has been declared in 55 of Amazonas’ municipalities (Picture: Getty Images)
Covering more than 2,000,000 square miles in Brazil and nearby countries, the Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest.
Often considered the lungs of the plant for absorbing more carbon dioxide than it releases, the Amazon is under threat from climate change, logging and burning for farming.
Despite being one of the wettest regions on Earth, the Amazon has seen four droughts since 2000.
Researchers found last year that it’s unlikely the forest may ever bounce back, which would devastate local wildlife and release up to 90,000,000,000 of planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
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