Baiji Totally Explained

Everything about Chinese River Dolphin totally explained

The (Lipotes vexillifer, Lipotes meaning "left behind", vexillifer "flag bearer") is a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze River in China. Nicknamed "Goddess of the Yangtze" in China, the dolphin was also called Chinese River Dolphin, Yangtze River Dolphin, Whitefin Dolphin and Yangtze Dolphin. It isn't to be confused with the Chinese White Dolphin . The 2007 IUCN Red List classifies the Baiji as a critically endangered (CR) species, and acknowledges the species is possibly extinct (PE). Efforts were made to conserve the species, but a late 2006 expedition failed to find any Baiji in the river. Organizers declared the Baiji "functionally extinct", which would make it the first aquatic mammal species to become extinct since the demise of the Japanese Sea Lion and the Caribbean Monk Seal in the 1950s. It would also be the first recorded extinction of a well-studied cetacean species (it is unclear if some previously extinct varieties were species or subspecies) to be directly attributable to human influence.
In August 2007, Zeng Yujiang reportedly videotaped a large white animal swimming in the Yangtze. that the animal on the video is a baiji, the presence of only one or a few animals, particularly of advanced age, isn't enough to save a functionally extinct species from true extinction.

Anatomy and morphology

Baiji are thought to breed in the first half of the year, the peak calving season being from February to April. A 30% pregnancy rate was observed. Gestation lasts 10-11 months, delivering one calf at a time; the interbirth interval is 2 years. Calves measure around 80-90 centimetres (32-35 in) at birth, and nursed for 8-20 months. The animal weighed 135-230 kilograms (300-510 lb),
When escaping from danger, the Baiji can reach 60 km/h (37 mph), but usually stays within 10 to 15 km/h (6-9 mph). Because of its poor vision and hearing, the Baiji relies mainly on sonar for navigation.

Distribution

Historically the Baiji occurred along 1,700 kilometres (1,000 miles) of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze from Yichang in the west to the mouth of the river, near to Shanghai. This had been reduced by several hundred kilometres both upstream and downstream, and was limited to the main channel of the Yangtze, principally the middle reaches between the two large tributary lakes, Dongting and Poyang. Approximately 12% of the world’s human population lives and works within the Yangtze River catchment area, putting pressure onto the river. It was one of four species of dolphins known to have made fresh water their exclusive habitat. The other three species, including the Boto and the La Plata Dolphin, have survived in the Río de la Plata and Amazon rivers in South America and the Ganges and Indus rivers on the Indian subcontinent.
It is estimated that there were 5,000 Baiji when they were described in the ancient dictionary Erya circa 3rd century BC. A traditional Chinese story describes the Baiji as the reincarnation of a princess who had been drowned by her family after refusing to marry a man she didn't love. Regarded as a symbol of peace and prosperity, the dolphin was nicknamed the "Goddess of the Yangtze."

Conservation

In the 1950s, the population was estimated at 6,000 animals, but declined rapidly over the subsequent five decades. Only a few hundred were left by 1970. Then the number dropped down to 400 by the 1980s and then to 13 in 1997 when a full-fledged search was conducted. Now the most endangered cetacean in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records,
In the 1970s and 1980s, an estimated half of Baiji deaths were attributed to entanglement in fishing gear. By the early 2000s, electric fishing was considered "the most important and immediate direct threat to the Baiji's survival."

1986: Population estimated to be 300

1989: Gezhouba Dam complete

1990: Population estimated to be 200

1994: Construction of the Three Gorges Dam begins

1996: IUCN lists the species as critically endangered

1997: Population estimated to be less than 50 (23 found in survey); a dead baiji was found with 103 separate open wounds

Surveys

Year	Survey Area	No. of km surveyed	No. of Baiji sighted	No. of Baiji estimated
1979	Wuhan-Chenglingji	230	19	-
1979	Nanjing-Taiyangzhou	170	10	-
1979-1981	Nanjing-Guichi	250	3-6 groups	400
1978-1985	Yichang-Nantong	1600	>20 groups	156
1985-1986	Yichang-Jiangyin	1510	42 groups	300
1979-1986	Fujiangsha-Hukou	630	78-79	100*
1987-1990	Yichang-Shanghai	1669	108	200
1989-1991	Hukou-Zhenjian	500	29	120
1991-1996	Xinchang-Wuhan	413	42	<100

Conservation efforts

Soon after it decided to modernize, China recognized the precarious state of the river dolphin. The government outlawed deliberate killing, restricted fishing, and established nature reserves.
In 1978, the Chinese Academy of Sciences established the Freshwater Dolphin Research Centre (淡水海豚研究中心) as a branch of the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology. In the 1980s and 1990s, several attempts were made to capture dolphins and relocate them to a reserve. A breeding program would then allow the species to recover and be reintroduced to the Yangtze after conditions improve. However, capturing the rare, quick dolphins proved to be difficult, and few captives survived more than a few months.
Efforts to save the mammals proved to be too little and too late. August Pfluger, chief executive of the Baiji.org Foundation, said, "The strategy of the Chinese government was a good one, but we didn't have time to put it into action."

In-situ conservation

Most scientists agreed that the best course of action was an ex-situ effort working in parallel with an in-situ effort. The deterioration of the Yangtze River had to be reversed to preserve the habitat. The ex-situ projects aimed to raise a large enough population over time so that some, if not all, of the dolphins could be returned to the Yangtze, so the habitat within the river had to be maintained anyway.

Ex-situ conservation

The Shishou Tian-e-Zhou is a 21 kilometre (13 mile) long, 2 kilometre (1.2 mile) wide oxbow lake located near Shishou City in Hubei Province. Shishou has been described as being "like a miniature Yangtze … possessing all of the requirements for a semi-natural reserve". From the designation as a national reserve in 1992 it has been intended to be used for not only the Baiji but also the Yangtze Finless Porpoise. In 1990 the first Finless Porpoises were relocated to the reserve and since then have been surviving and reproducing well. As of April 2005 26 Finless Porpoises were known to live in the reserve. A Baiji was introduced in December 1995, but died during the summer flood of 1996. To deal with these annual floods a dyke was constructed between the Yangtze and Shishou. Now water is controlled from a sluice gate located at the downstream mouth of the oxbow lake. It has been reported that since the installation of this sluice gate, water quality has declined since no annual transfer of nutrients can occur. Roughly 6,700 people live on the ‘island’ within the oxbow lake and so some limited fishing is permitted. It has also been noted that the site has incredible potential for ecotourism, which could be used to generate much needed revenue to improve the quality of the reserve. The necessary infrastructure doesn't currently exist to realize these opportunities.

Captive specimens

A Baiji conservation dolphinarium was established at the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) in Wuhan in 1992. This was planned as a backup to any other conservation efforts by producing an area completely protected from any threats, and where the Baiji could be easily observed. The site includes an indoor and outdoor holding pool, a water filtration system, food storage and preparation facilities, research labs and a small museum. The aim is to also generate income from tourism which can be put towards the Baiji plight. The pools are not very large (25 m arc [kidneyshaped] x 7 m wide x 3.5 m deep, 10 m diameter, 2 m deep and 12 m diameter, 3.5 m deep) and so are not capable of holding many Baijis at one time. Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine documented their encounters with the endangered animals on their conservation travels for the BBC programme Last Chance to See. The book by the same name, published in 1990, included pictures of a captive specimen, a male named Qi Qi (淇淇) that lived in the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology dolphinarium from 1980 to July 14 2002. Discovered by a fisherman in Dongting Lake, it became the sole resident of the Baiji Dolphinarium (白鱀豚水族馆) beside East Lake. A sexually mature female was captured in late 1995, but died after half a year in 1996 when the Shishou Tian-e-Zhou Baiji Semi-natural Reserve (石首半自然白鱀豚保护区), which had contained only Finless Porpoises since 1990, was flooded.

Further Information

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