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Introduction

December 20, 2006 - Baiji, Rare Dolphin, is Functionally Extinct
By Mike Ezawa
For millions of years, the Yangtze River Dolphins (also called “Baiji”) existed in the main channel of the Yangtze River in China.  Sharing their natural habitat with small populations of finless porpoises, these nearly-blind river dolphins would swim strong against currents, gather in congregations of ten or more, and use their sonar to navigate their way around their world.

Their beauty, coupled with very low numbers, captured hearts of the local people, scientists, and the few others who were aware of their existence.  It became a battle in conservation to keep the Baiji alive.  But on December 13, 2006, that fight came officially to an end.

According to Associated Press writer Charles Hutzler, in his recent article, a Swiss naturalist named August Pfluger, stated:  “The Baiji is functionally extinct.  We might have missed one or two animals, but it won’t survive in the wild.”  Pfluger, formerly an economist, aided in the creation of an international expedition to conserve the animals.  “We are all incredibly sad.”  He added.

A search spanning six weeks for the endangered dolphin came up unsuccessful, confirming the fears of many conservationists.

“For the baiji,” Hutzler writes, “the culprit was a degraded habitat – busy ship traffic, which confounds the sonar the dolphin uses to find its food, and overfishing and pollution in the Yangtze waters of eastern China.”

Baiji.org, a small group of specialists, scientists, and conservation experts dedicating to protecting the species, reiterated the results.  “During the six-week expedition scientists from six nations desperately searched the Yangtze in vain.” 

The now-extinct dolphin species was restricted in its final days to the middle and lower areas of the Yangtze River, which is located just west of the East China Sea.

“The disappearance of the baiji holds up a mirror with a tragic reflection,” Pfluger says on a Baiji.org blog entry, “a reflection of humanity’s inability to effectively prioritize on the basis of needs.”

The Baiji was discovered by Gerrit S. Miller Jr. in 1918.  Scientists of the western world were unaware that it was even present until the early 1900s.  As time passed, and civilization grew in the area surrounding its habitat, the Baiji began to disappear.  When the 20th century ended, the Baiji became the world’s most endangered cetacean.

So little was known about these dolphins in the wild.  A captive Baiji at the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology has provided science with nearly all known facts about their behavior, lifestyle, and general appearance.

The Baiji had a stout body, a long slim beak, and a small head.  Their eyes were very diminutive, hence their reliance on sonar, and the dorsal fin was low, dull-peaked, and triangular in shape.  They had large flippers with curved tips.  Their coloration reflects that of the bottlenose dolphin, grayish, with whitish bellies.

It is estimated that they preyed on fish near 3½ inches in length, and would typically shy away from prey more than nine ounces in weight.  To consume their prey, the Baiji had 30-34 pairs of teeth in the upper jaw, and 32-36 pairs in the lower.

“Let us also see the tragic fate of the baiji as a signal for the future,” Pfluger reflects, “and an important milestone: It is time for action.”

For conservationists worldwide, the loss of the beautiful Baiji is a bitter and stinging defeat.  Especially for Pfluger, who began his journey to protect the animals in 1997, when the Chinese government invited him to participate in a Baiji-Expedition.  “I’ve had the amazing privilege to observe a living Baiji in Yangtze. …there were at least 13 animals then [in 1997] – back when something could still be done.”

The demise of the Baiji marks the first time a large marine water-dwelling mammal was driven to extinction since the Carribbean monk seal died off in the 1950s because of overfishing and hunting.

The Baiji’s scientific name, Lipotes vexillifer, carries a tragically fitting translation.  Its first term originates in the Greek language, and means “one who is left behind.”

SOURCES

Hutzler, Charles.  “Rare white dolphin declared as extinct.”  News.Yahoo.com  13 Dec 2006.  13 Dec 2006. 

Pfluger, August.  The Race Goes On!  2006.  Baiji.org.  13 Dec 2006. 

Reeves, Randall R. “Yangtze River Dolphin.”  Guide to Marine Mammals of the World.  New York:  Chanticleer Press, Inc., 2002.  310-313.

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