Why Are The Endangered Dolphins Of Hong Kong pink?

Video Why Dolphins Are So Popular Take a trip around Lantau Island in Hong Kong and you might see something surprising: a pod of pink dolphins. They are technically known as the Chinese or Hong Kong white dolphins and are a variety of Indo-Pacific humpback or Sousa chinensis species of Southeast Asia and Australia. black and then gradually gray and then white as they age. But sometimes the adults appear a bright pink shade. This is because the presence of blood vessels located very close to the skin helps the animal to stay cool. But when in warm tropical waters, they really need to cool off by passing blood through blood vessels on the surface. So when they heat up, this cooling mechanism kicks in and they’re pink – just like we do with rosy cheeks after exercising on a hot day. Feeling flushed. rruiz3960/flickr, CC BYRead More: Why My Water Tank Leaks Linked dolphins were also found in the Amazon River in South America. They are called boto dolphins, and are so colored for the same reason. However, adults who use botos become more ruddy over time when their skin is rubbed. For this reason, males are more pink than females because they are often more aggressive towards each other, essentially exposing blood vessels over time. status. Research in the late 1990s found only a small population of about 200 remaining in the waters around Hong Kong, and conservationists say there are even fewer now. They tend to stay in coastal waters and are non-migratory, limiting themselves to an area of about 100 square kilometers, which means they are vulnerable to the full spectrum of human activities taking place around Hong Kong. , one of the busiest ports in the world. In addition to getting caught in fishing nets and being hit by ships, they are also affected by noise from shipping and construction at sea, which interferes with communication, hunts and damages their hearing. Recently, the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society warned that plans to expand the city’s island airport and build a bridge to nearby Macau could drive the population away altogether. Disturbed by human activity. Donna Cymek / Flickr, CC BY-NCRead more: why is my aloe turning brown | Top Q&AThey are also vulnerable to pollutants from sewage and industry that are released into the region’s rivers and coastal waters. We assess the health of UK seaside bathing water by the concentration of coliform bacteria in the stool. We consider it unacceptable to consume just 200 coliforms in one sitting, but Hong Kong dolphins are eating more than 100 times that amount per day. Concentrations of mercury, organochlorine, pesticides, flame retardants and butyltin (now banned for use in antirust paints) in Hong Kong dolphin tissues have been found to be much higher than in other populations. further away. of these pink dolphins. Sadly, they may follow the fate of the baiji, the Chinese Yantze river dolphin, which has been declared extinct after dams, ship collisions and pollution. Read more: why do woodpeckers peck on metal | Top Q&A