Rio Negro at Duisburg, 17/06/19

Beautiful shot! Im hoping one day river dolphins make a comeback in zoos, because this is just tool cool of an exhibit.

@DelacoursLangur Probably not ever going to happen though, as it will require capturing animals from the wild. And not only are river dolphins threatened and it probably wouldn't be legally possible to do so, catching animals from the wild for zoos, especially cetaceans, would also raise such a big controversy these days if it ever got out (and it inevitably would) that no zoo would want to take the risk of burning their hands and reputations by getting involved with such a thing.

@KevinB According to the WWF whilst they are threatened, they still have a wide distribution and number in the tens of thousands. A founding population of say 20 would be insubstantial compared the the number killed annually for use as bait. While the captive record for them hasnt been great thus far, we have learned a great deal since they were last imported, and I think they have the potential to do well in captivity should zoos be properly prepared. They have the potentially to replace bottle-nosed dolphins and manatees in many institutions, and become a mainstay of tropical south america complexes while creating a refuge population of this threatened species. I know this will probably never happen, but considering the AZA pulled off bringing in wild African elephants in recent years, im confidant they could put a positive public spin on river dolphin imports should they decide to make it a top priority.