Botos, the amazon river dolphins that shapeshifted into handsome young men

Photograph by Kevin Schafer

The Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), which in Brazil is known as "Boto", is a freshwater river dolphin endemic to the Orinoco, Amazon and Araguaia/Tocantins River systems of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It is the largest of the river dolphins. The neck vertebrae of the Amazon River Dolphin are not fused together, and therefore the Boto is able to bend its neck in a 90 degree angle to its body, and skillfully hunt fish in the flooded forest.


Photograph by Kevin Schafer

In a traditional Amazon River myth, at night an Amazon River Dolphin becomes a handsome young man who seduces girls, impregnates them, then returns to the river in the morning to become an Amazon River Dolphin again. This dolphin shapeshifter is called an "encantado" and their golden underwater world is called "Encante". This tea-like brew of silt and rotting vegetation make the Botos seem to glow orange underwater while they are actually grey and pink. Their mythical status may have been shielded them from exploitation, however the the growing use of gill nets, which can entrap and quickly kill dolphins, and the always rising exploitation of the Amzon Forest are quickly becoming a rising menace for them.


Photograph by Kevin Schafer

National Geographic Photographer Kevin Schafer has made this wonderful reportage about these amazing and playful animals. Click here to see the whole National Geographic gallery and for any further info.


Photograph by Kevin Schafer

Photograph by Kevin Schafer

Photograph by Kevin Schafer

Photograph by Kevin Schafer