FINLESS porpoise is the last
surviving mammal in China's Yangtze River after the extinction of the white
Yangtze River dolphin. But now, the species - commonly called river dolphin -
is also facing extinction due to human impact – fishing with dynamite and
electric current, draining of habitat, dredging, river traffic and pollution.
Chinese scientists believe
the mammal – which has been around for 25 million years - would be extinct in
some 15 years if nothing is done to protect them.
Since January, more than 20
river dolphins were found dead in China.
Post-mortems showed that
most of them had starved to death and one was severely injured by a boat's
propeller.
Today only around 1,000
finless porpoises live in the Yangtze River, including around 80 in Dongting
Lake and some in Poyang Lake.
The river dolphin has long
been considered a signal of coming storms.
River dolphins need to
breathe fresh air through their lungs and when the air pressure falls ahead of
a major storm, they jump out of the water and fishermen know it’s time to head
home.
Their appearance also marks
good fishing sites.
An adult male river dolphin
can grow up to two metres long and weigh as much as 220kg.
The mammal is highly
intelligent and is said to have an IQ as high as that of a chimpanzee.
Chinese fisheries
authorities have taken emergency measures to protect finless porpoises including
taking measures to reduce human impact, cracking down on illegal fishing,
suspending all sand gathering activities for a few months and monitoring
pollution discharge. (Xinhua)
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