Apure (river dolphin)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apure together with Butu (above) in June 2006

Apure (* approx. 1957; † October 9, 2006 in Duisburg ) was a male Amazon dolphin ( Inia geoffrensis ) who lived in the Duisburg Zoo and was a public favorite among visitors.

Life

Apure was caught in 1975 together with the younger male animal Butu (* approx. 1973) from the Orinoco on an expedition to South America for the Duisburg Zoo. It came from the Venezuelan Río Apure , hence its name. The catching operation was controversial at the time.

The river dolphin, known by the nickname “Father” because of the great age difference to its conspecifics , moved with Butu into the new tropical house “Rio Negro”, which cost 3.2 million euros . In the new, ten times larger pool with panorama panes, the animals should be given a peaceful retirement. The two were the only river dolphins kept outside a South American zoo .

Apure died at the age of almost 50 on October 9, 2006, after his movements had already slowed significantly in the days before. Old age was suspected to be the cause of death . At the time of his death, the animal was considered the oldest scientifically known river dolphin in the world. In freedom, the life expectancy of the endangered species of dolphin , which in their homeland was worshiped as a mythical creature for a long time , is around 20 to 30 years.

Another expedition to South America to find a new partner for the remaining animal Butu was ruled out by the Duisburg Zoo. In the wild, male river dolphins live solitary .

Web links

Commons : Apure (Amazon River Dolphin)  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ cf. A heart for ... In: the daily newspaper , October 10, 2006, NRW aktuell, p. 2
  2. ↑ cf. Puschmann, Wolfgang: Mammals . Frankfurt am Main: German, 2007 (zoo animal husbandry). - ISBN 978-3-8171-1799-4
  3. ↑ a b c cf. Oldest river dolphin in the world is dead . In: Hamburger Abendblatt , October 10, 2006, issue 236/2006, From all over the world, p. 28
  4. ↑ cf. New home for river dolphins . In: Berliner Morgenpost , September 14, 2005, issue 252/2005, Panorama, Tierisches, p. 10