Baiji Porpoise Declared Extinct (2006)

The Baiji porpoise (Lipotes vexillifer) was a small freshwater aquatic mammal that lived exclusively in the Yangtze River, China.  On December 13, 2006, a group of scientists who had been conducting an intensive study to locate Baiji declared that the animal was extinct.

The definitive extinction of a species, of course, can never be totally confirmed, especially an aquatic species.  Because we cannot definitively survey every part of a large water body at one instant, the possibly always exists that a survey could miss some specimens of a species.  This particular survey, however, was performed according to exacting statistical methods using modern hydro-acoustic technology.

The Baiji has been known throughout recorded history in the Yangtze River.  It was a relatively small porpoise, about the size of an adult human.  It had a stocky body, with a long narrow beak.  Baiji generally lived in small groups of fewer than five individuals.  It was a predator, feeding on fish of many species and at all locations in the river.  Individuals generally lived in areas of slower current, such as eddies and the confluence of tributaries with the main stem of the Yangtze River.  It was the only species in its genus, the name of which translates as “left behind” in Greek, denoting the restricted range of the species.

It was called the goddess of the river in earlier generations, protecting the safety of fishermen and aiding their catches.  Unfortunately, accidental catches of Baiji during fishing for other species greatly reduced its populations.  This, along with the continued development of the Yangtze River for hydropower and river transportation, continued to drive Baiji populations lower and lower in recent decades.  The last confirmed sighting of a Baiji was in 2002.  The IUCN Red List categorizes the Baiji porpoise as critically endangered, but notes that extinct has already probably occurred.

The extinction of the Baiji represents the first extinction of a cetacean (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) at the hands of humans.  It is also the first extinction of a large mammal in the last fifty years.  But it is not likely to remain the last.  Another freshwater porpoise in the Yangtaze River, the Yantze River finless porpoise, has now been declared critically endangered as its numbers have fallen below 100.  And another small dolphin—the vaquita or Gulf of California porpoise—that lives only in the upper reaches of the Gulf of California is considered the next most endangered marine mammal.

References:

Arklive.  Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer).  Available at:  http://www.arkive.org/baiji/lipotes-vexillifer/.  Accessed December 13, 2017.

IUCN.  2017.  Lipotes vexillifer.  Available at:  http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/full/12119/0.  Accessed December 13, 2017.

Lovgren, Stefan.  2006.  China’s rate river dolphin now extinct, experts announce.  Natinal Geographic News, December 14, 2006.  Available at:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061214-dolphin-extinct.html.  Accessed December 12, 2016.

Turvey, Samuel T., et al.  2007.  First human –caused extinction of a cetacean species?  Biology Letters October 22, 2007.  Available at:  http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/5/537.short.  Accessed December 12, 2016

This Month in Conservation

October 1
Yosemite National Park Created (1890)
October 2
San Diego Zoo Founded (1916)
October 3
James Herriot, English Veterinarian, Born (1916)
October 4
Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Ecology
October 5
Catherine Cooper Hopley, British Herpetologist, Born (1817)
October 6
Mad Hatter’s Day
October 7
Henry A. Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture, Born (1888)
October 8
World Octopus Day
October 9
Vajont Dam Disaster (1963)
October 10
Dnieper Dam Began Operation (1932)
October 11
Big Cypress and Big Thicket National Preserves Created (1974)
October 12
William Laurance, Tropical Conservationist, Born (1957)
October 13
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
October 14
Timpanogos Cave National Monument Created (1922)
October 14
Dr. Mamie Parker, Pioneering African American Fisheries Scientist and Leader, Born (1957)
October 15
Isabella Bird, Pioneering Eco-traveler, Born (1831)
October 16
World Food Day
October 17
Oliver Rackham born (1939)
October 18
Clean Water Act established (1972)
October 19
Research Vessel Albatross Launched (1882)
October 20
OPEC Oil Embargo (1973)
October 21
“Ding” Darling born (1876)
October 22
Wombat Day
October 23
Cumberland Island National Seashore established (1972)
October 24
Antoni von Leeuwenhoek born (1632)
October 25
Secretary of the Interior Convicted in Teapot Dome Scandal (1929)
October 26
Erie Canal Opens (1825)
October 27
Golden Gate and Gateway National Recreation Areas Created (1972)
October 28
Henry Mosby, Wild Turkey Biologist, Born (1913)
October 28
First Ticker-tape Parade Held (1886)
October 29
Stanley Park, Vancouver, Dedicated (1889)
October 30
UNESCO Designates 9 Natural World Heritage Sites (1981)
October 31
Lincoln Highway Dedicated (1913)
January February March April May June July August September October November December