(CN) 'Extinct' dolphin spotted in Yangtze River

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'Extinct' dolphin spotted in Yangtze River

Xinhua

2007-08-29

 

WUHAN -- A white-flag dolphin has been seen in Yangtze

River in east China, just days after a leading Chinese

scientist said the animal was likely extinct.

 

A man with a decoration company in east China's Anhui

Province spotted a " big white animal " in the river at

Xuba ferry in Tongling, Anhui, at 3:10 to 3:20 pm

August 19, and filmed it with a digital camera, said

Dr. Wang Kexiong, of the Institute of Hydrobiology of

the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

 

Judged from its appearance and living environment, the

animal in the footage was confirmed by the institute

to be a white-flag dolphin, known in Chinese as

" baiji " , Wang said.

 

" We are very glad to see baiji still exist in the

world, " Wang said.

 

" Many people have believed that baiji is extinct and

this finding brings us a sliver of hope, " said Wang

Ding, a leading expert on the species from the

hydrobiology institute of the Chinese Academy of

Sciences. But he noted that it is still quite

difficult to protect the endangered animal.

 

Because few of this species still live in the Yangtze

River, their chance of mating is slim, said Wang Ding,

who added that a measure is to gather these animals in

one section of the river for breeding.

 

" This is no easy task. But if we don't do that,

white-flag dolphins are doomed to go extinct " , he

said.

 

Zeng Yujiang, the man who spotted the dolphin, told

Xinhua, " I never saw such a big thing in the water

before, so I filmed it. It was about 1,000 meters away

and jumped out of water for several times. "

 

The footages were sent to the Tongling freshwater

dolphin nature reserve to determine what the animal

was. A staff with the Institute of Hydrobiology of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences, who happened to be in the

nature reserve, then brought the footages to the

institute based in Wuhan, capital of central China's

Hubei Province, which was well-known for research on

baiji.

 

The white-flag dolphin, unique to China's Yangtze

River, is listed as one of the 12 most endangered

species in the world. Its population dropped to below

150 in the early 1990s from around 400 a decade

earlier.

 

A team of 25 scientists from China, the United States,

Britain, Japan, Germany and Switzerland failed to find

any white-flag dolphin during a 38-day search last

year.

 

Wang Ding, a leading expert on the species from the

hydrobiology institute of the Chinese Academy of

Sciences and head of the team, said earlier this month

" This result means the baiji is likely extinct. "

 

Before the search, scientists had estimated there

would be no more than 50 dolphins in the river, a

prediction that appears wildly optimistic.

 

If the white-flag dolphin is extinct, it will be the

first cetacean to vanish as a result of human activity

as it is on the top of food chain in Yangtze River and

has no natural enemy, according to Wang Ding.

 

The professor is planning a trip to Tongling with some

experts. " I hope we could find that white-flag dolphin

then, " he said.

 

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/29/content_6066263.htm

 

 

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