Baiji River Dolphin Species Lost
China's Yangtze River Habitat Threatened with Multiple Extinctions
The world has its eyes set on China with the upcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but with the nation’s triumph there is also a great loss. China boasts many natural wonders from mountains to deserts, and the panda has become an international symbol for the country and for environmental conservation. Amidst all of this success, however, China has failed to save its “National Treasure,” the Baiji river dolphin.
What was the Baiji River Dolphin?
The Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer), also called the Yangtze or Chinese River dolphin, is a member of the cetacean family, which includes all whales, dolphins, and porpoises. It is specialized by its adaptation to freshwater. It is gray in color like its cousin the familiar bottlenose dolphin, and it reaches a maximum length of about eight feet. The Baiji has a flexible neck, tiny eyes, and a long, narrow snout for probing the riverbeds for hidden fish. To see in the murky waters of the Yangtze, the Baiji uses echolocation.
For twenty million years the Baiji and other river dolphins, have molded their bodies and their habits to fit perfectly with their freshwater environment. Although there are some dolphins that can live in both fresh and saltwater, like the tucoxi and Irrawaddy dolphin, the Baiji is limited to the river systems of the Yangtze in China. Therefore it has no way to escape the consequences of living so close to human civilization. In the congested Yangtze waterway the Baiji became a victim of propeller strikes, pollution, and overfishing.
The National Treasure of China is Extinct
The final blow for the Baiji came with China’s massive Three Gorges high dam. With China’s growing industry, the dam provides vital, clean energy for the nation, but it became the Baiji river dolphin’s epitaph. In 1998, a full decade ago, the number of Baiji dolphins was estimated at only 150 animals. It was a dicey number to begin with but conservationists attempted a captive breeding program, though it ultimately failed. In 2007 a thirty-eight day expedition found no Baiji dolphins at all and scientists declared it extinct. However, a Baiji dolphin was filmed and photographed later at Xuba ferry crossing on August 17, 2007.
Although the sighting of the Baiji dolphin proved the survey team’s pronouncement heralding the river dolphin’s extinction premature, it is highly unlikely that the Baiji will be resurrected. With so few surviving animals, the last Baiji river dolphins may never find one another to mate. Even if they did the species would face a future of inbreeding and susceptibility to crippling genetic diseases that could still drive them to extinction.
An Evolutionary Tragedy
The Chinese government, and the rest of the world, failed to act soon enough for the Baiji but there are other species in the Yangtze that could benefit from the tragic loss if changes are brought about because of it. The white Siberian crane, and the Yangtze finless porpoise, another freshwater cetacean, are just two of the species that could follow the Baiji. The Yangtze finless porpoise population has already fallen to an estimated 400 animals. A member of the expedition that declared the Baiji extinct last year, Dr. Sam Turvey of the Zoological Society of London said it best: “The loss of such a unique and charismatic species is a shocking tragedy…This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life and emphasizes that we have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet.”
References:
Wilson, Ben. Dolphins of the World. Stillwater MN: Voyageur Press, 1998.
Butler, Rhett A.. ""Extinct" baiji river dolphin spotted alive in China." Mongabay.com. 29 Aug 2007. 19 Jun 2008.
