http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/08/china.dolphin.reut/index.html Chinese dolphin 'probably extinct'Story Highlights Long-threatened Yangtze River dolphin in China is probably extinct Researchers say this is first whale or dolphin wiped out due to human activity Freshwater dolphin last spotted several years ago Dolphin's demise resulted from overfishing, pollution and lack of intervention LONDON, England (Reuters) -- The long-threatened Yangtze River dolphin in China is probably extinct, according to an international team of researchers who said this would mark the first whale or dolphin to be wiped out due to human activity. The Yangtze River dolphin, with its distinctive long nose, is likely to have been lost to the planet for ever The freshwater dolphin, or baiji, was last spotted several years ago and an intensive six-week search in late 2006 failed to find any evidence that one of the rarest species on earth survives, said Samuel Turvey, a conservation biologist, at the Zoological Society of London, who took part in the search. He said the dolphin's demise -- which resulted from overfishing, pollution and lack of intervention -- might serve as a cautionary tale and should spur governments and scientists to act to save other species verging on extinction. "Ours is the first scientific study which didn't find any," he said in a telephone interview. "Even if there are a few left we can't find them and we can't do anything to stop their extinction." The team, which published its findings in the Journal of the Royal Society Biology Letters on Wednesday, included researchers from the United States, Britain, Japan and China. The survey was also authorized by the Chinese government, Turvey said. The last confirmed baiji sighting was 2002, although there have been a handful of unconfirmed sightings since then. The last baiji in captivity died in 2002, Turvey said. During the six-week search, the team carried out both visual and acoustic surveys and used two boats to twice cover the dolphin's 1,669 kilometer range stretching from the city of Yichang just downstream from the Three Gorges dam to Shanghai. The last such survey conducted from 1997 to 1999 turned up 13 of the mammals, but Turvey said fishing, pollution and boat traffic in the busy river, home to about 10 percent of the world's population, has likely meant the baiji's end. "We covered the whole range of the dolphin twice," Turvey said. "It is difficult to see how we could miss any animals." The dolphins will now be classified as critically endangered and possibly extinct but Turvey said there is little chance any remaining baiji are alive. Researchers have known for years about the dolphin's precarious situation but indecision about how best to save the species meant little was actually done, he added. This underscores the need to act quickly to prevent the extinction of other similar shallow-water aquatic mammals like the vaquita found in the Sea of Cortez and the Yangtze finless porpoise, Turvey said. "One really needs to learn from this to make sure future conservation efforts are more dynamic," he said. "There has always been so much focus on 'save the whale' and 'prevent whaling' that it has led to these range-restricted shallow cetaceans slipping through the crack."
I remember reading about these when I was a kid in National Geographic. I thought they were the coolest things ever along with the Amazon River Dolphins. They do not even have any in captivity for any re-population or even DNA. I guess they will have to live on in pictures.
Having just visited there, I don't see how they could have found anything in the Yangtze, period. That has to be the most polluted body of water I've ever witnessed in my life. Chocolate milk is less brown and opaque than that river. China's complete disregard for the environment was far and away the most striking aspect of my trip. The air pollution in Shanghai, Xi'an, and Beijing was unbelievable. Think London fog with the subtle scent of a grill. Pretty sad, all said. I visited a breeding and research aquatic facility after a 3-day cruise on the Yangtze, featuring this dolphin. It's one thing when an a species dies out, but pretty upsetting when it happened because people were so needlessly destructive. Evan
That sucks... Hopefully its not too late to save some of the other endangered species in China. I'm wondering how far attempts went on captive breeding or if a few could be found to start a program. Then again probably any that are left wouldn't be genetically diverse enough to repopulate.
It is believed that of all species that ever inhabited the Earth over 99% of them are now extinct. Da h'story guyz had said it
There's no gas emmision regulation in China. I'm avoiding their seafood and soft poweforwards in the nba draft.
I don't mean to sound insensitive, or even fond of the Chinese government, but this wasn't exactly a dynamic, adaptable species. It had an amazingly small, fragile habitat. Remove human beings from the earth, and it would be a species that I would think would be likely to go extinct, unlike the robust Passenger Pigeon which we Americans did a fabulous job of eliminating in spite of its adaptability or even the Tasmanian Wolf which was strong until foreign species were introduced with which it couldn't comptete.
this is terrible, terrible, tragic news. those little buggers tasted delicious, especially deep fried between some slices of bread.
Yes, it has been talked about for awhile, but hope remained that somehow a few survived, somewhere. Sounds like they've given up. Sounds like they don't especially care that the river the dolphins lived in is, for all practical purposes, a running sewer. We've done more than our fair share of raping and pillaging our land and waterways, but at least until the last few years, we (the States) had been making real progress in cleaning up what we've done. What is shocking, I suppose, is living in the 21st century and watching countries like China (who is not alone, to be fair) do the terrible crap we did during the 19th and the bulk of the 20th centuries. We've largely moved beyond that. They are going through it. The great pity of the world is that we (the world) could use our planet in an environmentally sound way, but find it simply too much bother. It may kill the planet as a habitat for our species, if we don't watch out.
Do you guys realize how DIRTY China is? The pollution is UNREAL.. Like someone said, the major cities in China has HORRIBLE air pollution so I wouldn't be surprised if their water was polluted either.. They really lack the regulations and environmental agencies that a properly run government should have.
Beats me. They hold a huge chunk of our debt, are buying arms left and right, and have already spent billions and billions on the 2008 Olympics, so they must have some cash somewhere. The country is getting pretty rich. The majority of Chinese certainly aren't, but I'm sure they'd like clean air and water and forests and that stuff as much as anyone else.
Especially fire ants. I spent every summer growing up in Houston barefoot. My parents had to tie me down to get shoes on me. My own kids have never had that experience. Damned fire ants.
