What happened to the Yangtze River dolphin?
The Yangtze River dolphin is no more – the first cetacean to disappear as a result of human activity. After a fruitless search lasting six weeks, scientists failed to find a single Yangtze river dolphin, also known as the Baiji, in its natural habitat in China.
Is the Yangtze River dolphin extinct?
Critically Endangered
Baiji/Conservation status
Why did the river dolphin go extinct?
There are only five extant species of river dolphins left in the world today and they are all endangered or critically endangered. This is because pollution, dams, shipping and bycatch have taken their toll on this iconic species.
When was the last Yangtze River dolphin seen?
2007
A dolphin declared functionally extinct 10 years ago may have been spotted by Chinese conservationists in the Yangtze river. The last confirmed sighting of the Chinese river dolphin was in 2007, a year after scientists declared the species functionally extinct after failing to find any during a six-week search.
When was the last baiji dolphin spotted?
The last confirmed baiji sighting was in 2002; an exciting 2007 sighting eventually turned out to be a finless porpoise. The dolphin is the most recent large aquatic mammal to have gone extinct since the 1950s, when hunting and overfishing killed off the Caribbean monk seal.
Is the baiji dolphin extinct 2021?
Despite being listed as “critically endangered: possibly extinct” by the IUCN, this dolphin has not been seen in almost 20 years and several surveys of the Yangtze have failed to find it.
Is the baiji dolphin still alive?
Now the most endangered cetacean in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the baiji was last sighted in August 2004, though there was a possible sighting in 2007. It is listed as an endangered species by the U.S. government under the Endangered Species Act. It is now thought to be extinct.
Why did the baiji dolphin die in the Yangtze River?
The population along Yangtze River is up to 300 million people and their activities are the main cause of decline of the Baiji dolphin. During the last century, 92% of Baiji dolphin specimens died due to consequences of human activity. 1. In 1990s, the Yangtze River Dolphins disappeared in Donting Lake and Boyang Lake.
How many people live along the Yangtze River?
The population along Yangtze River is up to 300 million people and their activities are the main cause of decline of the Baiji dolphin. During the last century, 92% of Baiji dolphin specimens died due to consequences of human activity.
How big does a Yangtze river dolphin get?
The male grows up to 2.5 meters long and the female 2.3 meters and weighs between 100 & 150 kg. It maintains a body temperature of 36℃ and has lungs. They have very poor eyesight but have a very developed and sensitive sonar system.
Are there any porpoises left in the Yangtze River?
When Wang surveyed the river in the early 1990s, he found about 1,200 of the porpoises; 15 years later, there were fewer than half that number left. But Wang says it may not be too late to save the species.