Also known as Narrow ridged finless dolphin. this is a river dolphin, found only in the Yangtze river of China. Its cousin the Baiji has gone extinct but this species is currently doing better- though not by much, there is only thought to be around 1000 remaining. Unfortunately, this species faces many of the same threats so may be on the same road, but a few decades behind. We must fight for this not to be the case.
The Yangtze River has a large amount of human activity – causing population declines due to pollution, illegal fishing, vessel traffic, and the creation of dams (which splits up the population into smaller groups. Both the Chinese government and various charities are working to halt its slip towards extinction. Bycatch is also a significant, with a variety of banned fishing tools such as gillnets still in use.
They are highly opportunistic feeders, which likely explains significant differences in their diet at different times of the year.
There are 5 reserves that have been created, and activities in these areas are heavily controlled which will hopefully give at least small areas from which the porpoise can survive – time will tell.
