A sanctuary in the heart of Ecuador’s remote and jungle-covered Yasuni National Park provides much-needed protection for the Amazon river dolphin, a species coveted as bait and as a supposed aphrodisiac that is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Located at the confluence of the Cocaya and Aguarico rivers, near Ecuador’s border with Peru, the idyllic refuge offers a rare opportunity to observe that iconic species (Inia geoffrensis) swim gracefully, frolic and even feed out of the hand of visitors to the Yaku Warmi community tourism center.