Brazil still has a long way to go in the field of ecotourism. While in some places, as on the island of Fernando de Noronha, in the northeast, the rules concerning wildlife preservation are strict, in others there is less attention to long-term conservation and the ecological and social impact of tourism, often leading to the pure and simple exploitation of animals, as well as local people and their cultures.

One of the most profitable tourist activities in the Amazon is swimming alongside pink dolphins or feeding them from a flutuante, a private floating deck, often situated within a national park. Tourists regularly ride, restrain and harass the dolphins. Some even lift them out of the water for photographs. (Sometimes this is done with the encouragement of a tour guide.) There are accounts of people being accidentally bitten, and on one occasion, a man retaliated by punching the dolphin.

A few years ago, a commission of federal agencies and research institutes issued local guidelines for the activity — including the amount of food to be offered and the requirement that only tour guides could feed the dolphins — but few people adhere to them. According to the owner of one flutuante, tourists must only avoid touching the dolphin’s blowhole. (Please!)

There’s no federal legislation prohibiting feeding and touching the dolphins. As a result, their behavior has already changed: Many now survive on the frozen fish provided by tourism groups. They’re also conditioned to stay close to the flutuantes and to humans. According to researchers, aggression is now common among the dolphins.

Another popular activity in the Brazilian Amazon is caiman-spotting. In the evening, groups of people cruise the riverbanks, seeking out the huge nocturnal lizards that resemble crocodiles. It wouldn’t be disruptive if so many guides didn’t make a point of jumping in the water to grab the caimans and hold them up for photos.