Also known as the Amazon River dolphin, bufeo colorado, and tonina, Botos are the center of many Amazonian myths and legends. They are generally respected and protected, perhaps due to a belief in their supernatural powers; in a traditional Amazon River myth, at night, a Boto becomes a handsome young man who seduces a girl, impregnates her, and then returns to the river in the morning to become a Boto again. It has been suggested that the myth arose partly because dolphin genitalia bear a resemblance to that of a humans. In the local area, there are also tales that it is bad luck to kill a Boto and that the spirits of drowned people sometimes enter their bodies.

These friendly, sensitive, mammals are freshwater river dolphins endemic to the Amazon River and Orinoco River systems. They can be found in nearly all types of microhabitats within these rivers, including main rivers, small channels, lakes, and just below waterfalls and rapids. The water level cycle exerts the strongest influence on habitat use by these dolphins during different parts of the year.

Pink dolphins vary in color from environment to environment, and as they age. The young ones are a dark gray with lighter stomachs and the adults vary from a blue-grey to a creamy white. They sometimes have brilliant pink stomachs or can even be all pink (males have been found to be significantly pinker than females). It is thought that their coloration may depend on temperature, clarity of water, and geographic location. Adult males are about 2.5 meters long and weigh 150 kilograms with large flippers that curve back. Females are smaller, averaging about 2 meters in length and 100 kg in weight. The fact that males are larger makes this species unique among river dolphins, as females are larger in the remaining freshwater dolphin species. These dolphins don’t have dorsal fins, though there is a bumpy raised ridge on their backs.
Their bodies appear to be rather fat and heavy, but they are very flexible. Unlike other dolphins, the Boto's cervical (neck) vertebrae are not fused, which allows for a 180-degree head turn.  Though their eyes are small, they can see quite well (both above and below water), except for their bulging cheeks hampering downward view. This, however, is overcome, by swimming upside-down!

These dolphins have 25-35 pairs of peg-like front teeth in both the upper and lower jaws, for seizing and then crushing their prey (which mainly consists of crabs, shrimp, turtles and small fish). They use echolocation to hunt, navigate, and perceive their environment.
Botos consume about 2.5% of their body weight in food every day. Although they are usually solitary feeders (they are not often seen in groups larger than 2), they have been known to form loose aggregations with tucuxis and giant otters to hunt fish in a coordinated fashion, herding and attacking shoals of fish together. There seems to be little competition among these species, since each prefers different types of fish.
Little is known about their mating system. Some scientists have observed hostility between pink Botos in the wild, while others have noted extremely aggressive activity during mating in captivity. Males also have a high degree of damaged fins, flukes, and blowholes due to biting and abrasion, which suggests that there may be intense competition for access to females.
Reproduction is seasonal, with births occurring between May and July. The gestation period is estimated to be about 11 months, and births in captivity have been observed to take between 4 and 5 hours. Mothers give birth to single calves, and once the umbilical cords break, they help their calves to the surface for air. The calves may nurse for well over a year.
The lifespan of pink river dolphins in the wild is unknown, but in healthy individuals it is thought to be from 10-26 years. However, their average longevity in captivity has been reported to be only about 33 months.

Botos are extremely intelligent: of the five freshwater species of dolphins in the world, the pink Amazon River dolphin is considered to be the most intelligent, although its intelligence has not been extensively tested. They have a brain capacity 40% larger than that of humans and are known for their highly developed sense of curiosity.
On the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, they are classified as vulnerable. Although no one knows the actual number of them left in the Amazon basin owing to the inaccessibility of the rainforests, it is estimated that the total population of Botos runs in the tens of thousands.
Botos have never been directly hunted. However, as fishing technologies have improved, the incidental catching of Botos has greatly increased. They have also been harpooned, shot, and poisoned for stealing fish out of nets and damaging the fishing equipment. Since 1988 this practice has been outlawed in Brazil and Bolivia, and in protected areas of Peru, Venezuela and Colombia.
Hydroelectric dams have been problematic in several ways. They decrease the available food supply by preventing various species of fish from migrating downstream, while also decreasing the oxygen level downstream. The rivers are also becoming polluted by pesticides from agricultural fields and heavy metals (including mercury) from gold refining, which negatively affect both Botos and their prey.