metalsonicmk72
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The Baiji (Traditional Chinese: 白鱀豚; pinyin: báijìtún) (Lipotes vexillifer, Lipotes meaning "left behind", vexillifer "flag bearer") was a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze River in China. Nicknamed "Goddess of the Yangtze" (長江女神) in China, the dolphin was also called Chinese River Dolphin, Yangtze River Dolphin, Beiji, Pai-chi (Wade-Giles), Whitefin Dolphin and Yangtze Dolphin. It is not to be confused with the Chinese White Dolphin (中華白海豚).
Efforts were made to conserve the Baiji after its population began a drastic decline in recent decades. The odds were against the mammal, however, and a late 2006 expedition failed to find any in the river. Organizers declared the Baiji "functionally extinct",[1] making it the first aquatic mammal species to become extinct since the 1950s.
Causes of decline
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has noted the following as threats to the species: a period of hunting by humans during the Great Leap Forward, entanglement in fishing gear, the illegal practice of electric fishing, collisions with boats and ships, habitat loss, and pollution.
During the Great Leap Forward, when traditional veneration of the Baiji was denounced, it was hunted for its flesh and skin, and quickly became scarce.
As China developed economically, pressure on the river dolphin grew significantly. Industrial and residential waste flowed into the Yangtze. The riverbed was dredged and reinforced with concrete in many locations. Ship traffic multiplied, boats grew in size, and fishermen employed wider and more lethal nets. Noise pollution caused the nearly blind animal to collide with propellers. Stocks of the dolphin's prey declined drastically in recent decades as well, with some fish populations declining to one thousandth of their pre-industrial levels.
In the 1970s and 1980s, an estimated half of Baiji deaths were attributed to entanglement in fishing gear. By the early 2000s, electric fishing was considered "the most important and immediate direct threat to the Baiji's survival."[10] Though outlawed, the destructive fishing technique is widely practiced throughout China. The building of the Three Gorges Dam further reduced the dolphin's habitat and facilitated an increase in ship traffic.
Timeline
circa 3rd century BC: population estimated at 5,000 animals
1950s: population was estimated at 6,000 animals
1958-1962: The Great Leap Forward denounces the animal's traditional venerated status
1979: The People's Republic of China declares the Chinese River Dolphin endangered
1983: National law declares hunting the Chinese River Dolphin illegal
1984: The plight of the Baiji draws headlines in China[12]
1986: Population estimated to be 300
1989: Gezhouba Dam complete
1990: Population estimated to be 200
1994: Construction of the Three Gorges Dam begins
1996: IUCN lists the species as critically endangered
1997: Population estimated to be less than 50 (23 found in survey); a dead baiji was found with 103 separate open wounds[2]
1998: 7 found in survey
2003: Three Gorges Dam begins filling reservoir
2004: Last known sighting, a stranded dead dolphin
2006: None found in survey, declared "with all probability extinct"
Current status
Main article: Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition 2006
The Xinhua News Agency announced on 4 December 2006 that no Chinese River Dolphins were detected in a six-week survey of the Yangtze River conducted by 30 researchers. The failure of the Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition (长江淡水豚类考察) raised suspicions of the first unequivocal extinction of a cetacean species due to human action[26] (some extinct baleen whale populations might not have been distinct species). Poor water and weather conditions may have prevented sightings,[1] but expedition leaders declared it "functionally extinct" on 13 December 2006 as fewer are likely to be alive than are needed to propagate the species.
No aquatic mammal has become extinct since the Caribbean Monk Seal disappeared in the 1950s. Several land-based mammal species and subspecies have become extinct in recent decades.
Some scientists retain hope for the species. Wang Limin, director of the World Wildlife Fund Wuhan office said, "The fact that the expedition didn't see any Baiji dolphins during this expedition does not necessarily mean that the species is extinct or even 'effectively extinct', because it covered a considerable distance in a relatively short period of time... However, we are extremely concerned. The Yangtze is highly degraded, and we spotted dramatically fewer Finless Porpoises than we have in the past."[
This is shocking for the people who love animals espescially dolphin lovers. How does this extinction affect you?
Edit: Here is a picture of a baiji:
Edit #2: Here is a picture of the Baiji's cousin the finless porpoise:
Aren't they just adorable? *Note* these pictures aren't mine.
The Baiji (Traditional Chinese: 白鱀豚; pinyin: báijìtún) (Lipotes vexillifer, Lipotes meaning "left behind", vexillifer "flag bearer") was a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze River in China. Nicknamed "Goddess of the Yangtze" (長江女神) in China, the dolphin was also called Chinese River Dolphin, Yangtze River Dolphin, Beiji, Pai-chi (Wade-Giles), Whitefin Dolphin and Yangtze Dolphin. It is not to be confused with the Chinese White Dolphin (中華白海豚).
Efforts were made to conserve the Baiji after its population began a drastic decline in recent decades. The odds were against the mammal, however, and a late 2006 expedition failed to find any in the river. Organizers declared the Baiji "functionally extinct",[1] making it the first aquatic mammal species to become extinct since the 1950s.
Causes of decline
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has noted the following as threats to the species: a period of hunting by humans during the Great Leap Forward, entanglement in fishing gear, the illegal practice of electric fishing, collisions with boats and ships, habitat loss, and pollution.
During the Great Leap Forward, when traditional veneration of the Baiji was denounced, it was hunted for its flesh and skin, and quickly became scarce.
As China developed economically, pressure on the river dolphin grew significantly. Industrial and residential waste flowed into the Yangtze. The riverbed was dredged and reinforced with concrete in many locations. Ship traffic multiplied, boats grew in size, and fishermen employed wider and more lethal nets. Noise pollution caused the nearly blind animal to collide with propellers. Stocks of the dolphin's prey declined drastically in recent decades as well, with some fish populations declining to one thousandth of their pre-industrial levels.
In the 1970s and 1980s, an estimated half of Baiji deaths were attributed to entanglement in fishing gear. By the early 2000s, electric fishing was considered "the most important and immediate direct threat to the Baiji's survival."[10] Though outlawed, the destructive fishing technique is widely practiced throughout China. The building of the Three Gorges Dam further reduced the dolphin's habitat and facilitated an increase in ship traffic.
Timeline
circa 3rd century BC: population estimated at 5,000 animals
1950s: population was estimated at 6,000 animals
1958-1962: The Great Leap Forward denounces the animal's traditional venerated status
1979: The People's Republic of China declares the Chinese River Dolphin endangered
1983: National law declares hunting the Chinese River Dolphin illegal
1984: The plight of the Baiji draws headlines in China[12]
1986: Population estimated to be 300
1989: Gezhouba Dam complete
1990: Population estimated to be 200
1994: Construction of the Three Gorges Dam begins
1996: IUCN lists the species as critically endangered
1997: Population estimated to be less than 50 (23 found in survey); a dead baiji was found with 103 separate open wounds[2]
1998: 7 found in survey
2003: Three Gorges Dam begins filling reservoir
2004: Last known sighting, a stranded dead dolphin
2006: None found in survey, declared "with all probability extinct"
Current status
Main article: Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition 2006
The Xinhua News Agency announced on 4 December 2006 that no Chinese River Dolphins were detected in a six-week survey of the Yangtze River conducted by 30 researchers. The failure of the Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition (长江淡水豚类考察) raised suspicions of the first unequivocal extinction of a cetacean species due to human action[26] (some extinct baleen whale populations might not have been distinct species). Poor water and weather conditions may have prevented sightings,[1] but expedition leaders declared it "functionally extinct" on 13 December 2006 as fewer are likely to be alive than are needed to propagate the species.
No aquatic mammal has become extinct since the Caribbean Monk Seal disappeared in the 1950s. Several land-based mammal species and subspecies have become extinct in recent decades.
Some scientists retain hope for the species. Wang Limin, director of the World Wildlife Fund Wuhan office said, "The fact that the expedition didn't see any Baiji dolphins during this expedition does not necessarily mean that the species is extinct or even 'effectively extinct', because it covered a considerable distance in a relatively short period of time... However, we are extremely concerned. The Yangtze is highly degraded, and we spotted dramatically fewer Finless Porpoises than we have in the past."[
This is shocking for the people who love animals espescially dolphin lovers. How does this extinction affect you?
Edit: Here is a picture of a baiji:
Edit #2: Here is a picture of the Baiji's cousin the finless porpoise:
Aren't they just adorable? *Note* these pictures aren't mine.
