Meet The Yangtze Finless Porpoise

STATUS: Critically Endangered
POPULATION: ~1000

The Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia, was one of the only two rivers in the world home to two different species of dolphin — the Yangtze finless porpoise and the Baiji dolphin. However, in 2006 the Baiji dolphin was declared functionally extinct. This was the first time in history that an entire species of dolphin had been wiped off the planet because of human activity. Now, its close cousin the Yangtze finless porpoise, also known for its mischievous smile and a level of intelligence comparable to that of a gorilla, are the last aquatic mammal in the Yangtze River.

The Yangtze finless porpoise is one of the very few porpoises that live in freshwater. They are crucial to the ecosystem of the Yangtze River, playing an important role in keeping their environment healthy. They eat fish and other river creatures, which would otherwise increase in number and unbalance the local food chain. Equally, porpoises are a good indicator of the health of their environment — if the river is overfished or polluted, the porpoises struggle to survive.

The Yangtze finless porpoises are on the top of the food chain in the Yangtze River, facing endangered status due solely to human activity.

Photo by Kenichi Nobusue via Wikimedia Commons

What’s the danger?

There are several threats harming the Yangtze finless porpoise and its habitat.

FISHING

Although these creatures are not directly targeted by fishermen, a certain type of fishing called bycatch — when people use fishing nets on boats to catch fish — resulted in many of these porpoises’ death. Since there are many fishermen in the Yangtze, because of their nets, equipment, and them fishing quite often, the Yangtze finless porpoise might be unable to move and can drown to death. Their endangered status is affected by these types of human activity, despite not being a target of fishermen.

ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

Agriculture and nearby industrial building cause a lot of pollution which runs into the Yangtze and affects the porpoises’ habitat. The dams that block their way of movement create isolated porpoise populations, give them less space to get food, and make it harder for them to find each other to mate. There also are many boats in the Yangtze River and the “unlucky” ones may collide with boats. Due to these destructing human activities, the river became so heavily polluted that in 2015, eight Yangtze finless porpoise were transferred to the Poyang Lake to further increase the survival chance of the species.

The Yangtze finless porpoises are on the top of the food chain in the Yangtze River. If they disappear it is going to disrupt the ecosystem in the river in which so many people rely on for food, provision of clean water, and a source of livelihoods.

There are more pages in J. R. R. Tolkien’s trilogy, The Lord Of The Rings, than the number of Yangtze finless porpoises left in the world.

Photo by Yohkawa via Wikimedia Commons

How can we help?

There is some good news.

After years of rapid decline, the latest census shows that the population of the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise has remained almost stable in recent years — dropping very slightly to 1012 individuals from 1040 in 2012. There are current efforts to reconnect more than 40 floodplain lakes with the main stem of the Yangtze River to restore seasonal flows and allow the migration of species between the lakes and the river. This helps to secure the food supply for the Yangtze finless porpoise. There are also programs to provide fishermen with feasible alternatives for income generation. This helps to develop the economy, stop overfishing and it allows fishermen to contribute to the protection of the finless porpoise. Everybeing proceeds go to supporting efforts like these.

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