For as long as I can remember … I’ve always loved dolphins. Here are three endangered dolphins that need our utmost attention.

Sadly, as Hayden Pannetiere put in our collective attention late last year, thousands and thousands of the species are slaughtered for their meat or oil. The video spreading out last year wasn’t pretty either. It was like watching a snuff film — where the blood of the victim was force-fed to the family. (That last scene, where the blood was dumped right back into the ocean?) As brutal as that was, it showed that, while the world may agree on a lot of things, endangering a whole species doesn’t seem to be that big of an issue.

Human threats are the number one cause for the extinction of a species of dolphins. Several river dolphin species are now facing a horrible fate by being on the endangered species list. As of 2006, a survey was conducted and not one sample of the Yangtze River Dolphin could be obtained, leading protection groups to believe that the species is now extinct.

While changing now doesn’t bring a whole species back, and I may be just another one of those voices protesting — the only way I could help, I guess, is by putting forth what we, as a species can look forward to help.

Irrawaddy Dolphin – While this dolphin doesn’t look necessarily like the common types of dolphins we see on tv, mugs, rings, stuffed toys and pillows — it is part of the dolphin family, and is still worth saving. It is easily recognizable from its rounded, rather than elongated head. Its dorsal fin is shorter than average and is triangular in shape. It reaches a length of about 2.3 m and weighs over 280 pounds in maturity. As a fun bit of trivia, during the 1970s, Burmese fishermen used to call on to the dolphins by tapping the sides of their boats to goad the dolphin to swim around it. Doing so attracts fishes, and when the fishermen have the fish trapped in a net, they share their catch with the dolphin.

Australian Snubfin Dolphin – This looks a bit like the Irrwaddy Dolphin, and for good reason — the two are related. Both are river dolphins and are most commonly found around the coast of Australia. The first clue to their difference is the color — while the Irrawaddy Dolphin comes in an almost uniformly-grey-to-white belly color, the Australian Snubfin comes in a copper-ish-top-to-light-brown-sides-to-a-full-white belly. The resemblance may be one of the core reasons why this dolphin is considered a new “new” discovery — only being scientifically described in 2005.

Bolivian River Dolphin – This, too, is another new “new” discovery. It has been acknowledged as a separate species of dolphins than the more widely-known Amazon River Dolphin. The Bolivian species feature a smaller size, a lighter grey color and has more teeth. Different from most dolphins, they feature a flexible neck, able to turn their heads from side to side, useful for weaving between the branches of flooded forests during the wet season.

Hopefully I brought these species of dolphins to your attention, and may you spread the word along for the helpless beautiful creatures.

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