Chinese River Dolphin

Chinese River Dolphin

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Subclass:	Eutheria
Order:	Cetacea
Suborder:	Odontoceti
Family:	Lipotidae
Genus:	Lipotes
Species:	vexillifer

Binomial name

Lipotes vexillifer

The Chinese River Dolphin, or Baiji is a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze River in China. It is the only member of its genus. Other names for it include Beiji, Pai-c'hi (Wade-Giles), Whitefin Dolphin, Whiteflag Dolphin, Yangtze Dolphin, and Yangtze River Dolphin. It is nicknamed "the Goddess of the Yangtze River" in China.

Table of contents

1 Early history
2 The chronology of the species' rapid decline
3 Wuhan Baiji Dolphin Preservation Foundation
4 See also
5 External links

Early history

Fossil records indicate that the dolphins migrated from the Pacific to Yangtze River 20,000 years ago. The dolphins are described during the Han Dynasty in a biological encyclopedia, Erya. It is estimated that there were 5,000 Baijis at that time. In 1978, the Chinese Academy of Sciences established the Freshwater Dolphin Research Centre as a branch of the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology (武汉水生生物研究所).

The chronology of the species' rapid decline

1979: The People's Republic of China declares Baiji endangered
1983: National law declaring hunting Baiji illegal
1986: Population at 300
1990: Population at 200
1997: Population at less than 50 (23 found)
1998: 7 found

Its current population is difficult to estimate, but it is thought that there are at least thirteen individuals still alive. Needless to say, that is an extremely low number and

it is therefore thought to be the world's most endangered cetacean. A captive specimen, a male named Qiqi , was located at the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology from 1980 to July 14, 2002. Qiqi was discovered by a fisherman in Dongting Lake, and later became the sole resident of Baiji Dolphin Aquarium beside Eastern Lake . There was a later captive, which died after living a year (1996 to 1997) in the Shishou Semi-natural Baiji Dolphin Sanctuary that had been empty since 1990. A female was found in Chongming Island (崇明岛) in Shanghai Municipality in 1998, but she did not eat any provided food and starved to death within a month.

Wuhan Baiji Dolphin Preservation Foundation

The Wuhan Baiji Dolphin Preservation Foundation , the first Chinese aquatic species protection organization, was founded in December 1996. The Foundation has gathered 1,383,924.35 CNY (about 10,034.02 USD) and have spent the financial resources on in vitro cell preservation and maintenance of the Baiji facilities, including the 1998-flooded Shishou Sanctuary.