Amazon river dolphins are being devastated by illegal gold mining that contaminates their prey with mercury, causing neurological damage and death.
Amazon river dolphins with high mercury body burdens experience progressive neurological damage causing behavioural changes, reduced foraging success, and eventual death. Mercury poisoning causes tremors, loss of coordination, and organ failure. Dolphins deliberately killed by fishers using hooks baited with catfish die from acute trauma. Isolated populations in drought-reduced rivers face habitat compression causing increased competition, stress, and disease transmission. The combination of deliberate killing, mercury poisoning, and habitat degradation represents a devastating multi-threat welfare crisis.