San Jose, Jul 5 (EFE).– A video game developed in Costa Rica aims to raise awareness in Latin America of the need to protect the Amazon river dolphin, or pink dolphin, and other river species, such as the manatee, that are threatened by illegal fishing and habitat loss.

The game, titled “Apu, el espiritu del rio” (Apu, the Spirit of the River), takes players on a journey through the river in the form of a pink dolphin that must dodge fishhooks, nets and boats, the Costa Rica office of World Animal Protection said.

Pink river dolphins are used as bait in Brazil to catch a catfish known as the mota that is popular in Colombia, the animal rights organization said.

The pink dolphin population has fallen by 10 percent as a result of illegal fishing in Brazil, World Animal Protection said.

The video game can be found at apuyelespiritudelrio.org and at Google Play, the animal rights group said.

World Animal Protection, formerly known as the World Society for the Protection of Animals, or WSPA, works to safeguard animals in more than 50 countries. EFE