Chinese dolphin declared extinct

Scientists have concluded that the Yangtze dolphin is extinct after failing to spot the animal in an extensive six-week survey of its remaining habitat.

This could be the first official extinction of a large vertebrate for more than 50 years. The dolphin would also be the only species of cetacean (whale, dolphin or porpoise) ever to be driven to extinction by human activity
 
Also known as the Baiji, surveys in 2006 showed that dolphin numbers had dwindled to around 17.
 
Zoologists developed a scheme to save the Baiji by setting up a conservation reserve in a 21-kilometre oxbow lake, which was once part of the Yangtze.
 
The plan was to capture a few individuals and move them to the lake, where they could be cared for and bred. Efforts however came too late, as not a single dolphin was found.
 
The team of scientists blame human activity for the animal’s demise. China’s modernisation has seen heavy use of the Yantze River over the past 50 years for fishing, transport and electricity generation.

Extinction tragedy

Pollution, overfishing and habitat loss are all thought to have contributed to the dolphin’s disappearance.
 
"The loss of such a unique and charismatic species is a shocking tragedy. The Yangtze River dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20 million years ago,” said Dr Sam Turvey from the Zoological Society of London, who led the international research team.
 
"This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life and emphasises that we have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet."
 
Writing in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, the scientists describe how they tried to pull the dolphin from the brink of extinction.
 
"The Baiji's extinction also highlights the need for new conservation initiatives in China's increasingly threatened Yangtze ecosystem, which is also home to endangered freshwater porpoises, seven-metre long fish, giant salamanders and white Siberian cranes," added Dr Turvey.
 

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