Yangtze river dolphin is an ex-cetacean

[mawilson 2,133]

Scientists have today declared the Yangtze river dolphin extinct after an intensive

survey failed to find evidence of a single animal in the waterway.

Pollution, shipping, and over-fishing have all been fingered as culprits. The dolphin's

demise marks the first large vertebrate species obliterated by human activity for

50 years and the first ever cetacean (whales, dolphins, and porpoises).

Over six weeks last year, an international team scoured the Yangtze for dolphins

using sensitive underwater microphones, hoping to set the baseline for a conservation

effort. They drew a complete blank, however, announcing the dolphin was "functionally

extinct"

. The team have now confirmed the finding and published results

of the Chinese government-authorised investigation in the Journal of the Royal Society

Biology Letters.

The up-to-eight foot freshwater dolphin, known as the baiji locally, has been on the

critical list for several years. A 1999 study suggested there were only 13 individuals

remaining. The last confirmed wild sighting was in 2002, the same year as the last

baiji in captivity died.

Zoological Society of London conservationist Dr Sam Turvey cautioned that China's

rapid industrialisation presents a special threat. He said: "The baiji's extinction highlights

the need for new conservation initiatives in China's increasingly threatened Yangtze

ecosystem, which is also home to endangered freshwater porpoises, seven-metre

long fish, giant salamanders, and white Siberian cranes."

It's estimated that 10 per cent of the world's population live on the banks of the Yangtze.

Source

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I'm sure they made their way into a chinese cannery.

[SteveLaura 0]

Sad. I travelled on the Yangtze along the Three Gorges before the dam was built. Don't remember seeing any dolphins, but the scenery was spectacular. Hope it still is.

[almaty 19]