Three records of Amazon river dolphins from 2025 and 2026 provide the first documented evidence of the species in Bolivia. The sightings were in the Acre River basin in the department of Pando.
The first record came during Cobija's participation in the City Nature Challenge in April 2025. Local fishers later contributed two more records, and researchers also interviewed 34 fishers about what they had seen on the river.
The study, reported by the Wildlife Conservation Society and published in Neotropical Hydrobiology and Aquatic Conservation, adds new information about where the dolphins occur. The fishers' observations helped researchers document a species that has been little studied in this part of Bolivia.
The team says more research is needed to estimate the population, understand the dolphins' movements and learn whether they remain in the Acre River through different seasons.
