Facts about the Baiji
The Baiji, or the Yangtze River dolphin (lipotes vexillifer) is a graceful and beautiful creature who makes its home in the Yangtze River in China. It goes several other names including Changjiang Dolphin, white fin dolphin, Chinese river dolphin, Chinese Lake Dolphin, and the white flag dolphin.
The Baiji is also called the Goddess of the Yangtze. This is because of a famous myth. According to legend, a princess died and was reincarnated as a Baiji.
In the past, the Baiji was only found from the mouth of the Yangtze River delta to about 50km above the Gezhouba Dam. Nowadays, they can be found in the lower and middle of the river, situated between two tributary lakes, Dongting and Poyang.
The Baiji has long been regarded as an extremely shy creature. Graceful, they are stocky in appearance. Males are about 141-216 cm and females’ 185-253 cm. Males weigh 42-125 kg, females 64-167 kg. They have low triangular dorsal fins, with a relatively long and slightly unturned beak. Because the Yangtze River is quite muddy, their eyes are very small and scarcely have any function. They look white or a greyish colour from a distance but once up close, they are bluish-grey with white undersides.
The Baiji usually swims in groups of four or five, but they have been sighted in groups of eleven or twelve. However, in past decades, they were more likely to be seen either in pairs or on their own.
They usually feed during the morning or at night, with their diet being mainly of fish. Females will become sexually mature around eight years old and only give birth once every two years. Sadly most of our information comes from one male, Qi-Qi, who survived captivity for 22 years.
Since the 1950’s, the population of the Yangtze River dolphins have sadly dwindled. This has been due to local fishermen who had used rolling hooks and other gear. Other problems include pollution, reduced amounts of food for them, fishing boat collisions as well as river development ventures. Between 1979 and 1981, the scholars Li and Zhou stated that “explosions caused 19.4% of deaths during illegal fishing operations (using explosives) in the lower reaches of the river”.
Unfortunately, in 1997 only 17 of these beautiful creatures were seen. By 1999, there were only four just spotted. When scientists explored the Yangtze in November and December 2006, they could not find a single one. In 2006, the Baiji was placed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Critically Endangered. Regrettably, it is believed that the Baiji may now be extinct.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family: Lipotidae
Genus: Lipotes
Species: vexillifer
References:
EDGE (http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=1#threats)
NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/chineseriverdolphin.htm#population)
Written by Lysianassa
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