Where is baiji white dolphin found?

Yangtze River
The baiji is a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze River, China. It is pale blue to gray on its dorsal (back) side and white on its ventral (belly) side.

Was a river dolphin once found in China?

China’s ‘extinct’ dolphin may have returned to Yangtze river, say conservationists. Chinese conservationists believe they may have caught a rare glimpse of a freshwater dolphin that was declared functionally extinct a decade ago having graced the Yangtze river for 20 million years.

Is the baiji river dolphin extinct?

Critically Endangered
Baiji/Conservation status

In 1997, there were only an estimated 13 left, and the baiji was the most critically endangered dolphin in the world. In 2007 scientists declared the baiji extinct when they had failed to find evidence of a single one in the Yangtze River during an extensive search.

How many baiji river dolphins are left?

They migrated up- and downstream. By the mid 1980s surveys revealed that only an estimated few hundred baiji survived; by 1990, the baiji was critically endangered – there were only thought to be 100 left and in 1997 only 13 individuals remained. The nosedive in baiji numbers was fast and shocking.

What eats the baiji dolphin?

Baiji Predators and Prey Humans are the only predators of baiji dolphins though they are not eaten by people. The diet of a baiji dolphin consists of small fish such as carp, yellow catfish, and copper fish. These fast dolphins are able to capture small fish and swallow them whole.

Do dolphins live in the Yangtze River?

About the Species The Chinese river dolphin is a freshwater dolphin and one of the most endangered animals on Earth. It is found in the Yangtze River in China. Under the Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries must list threatened and endangered marine species regardless of where they are found.

Are there any extinct dolphins?

Baiji dolphin The last documented sighting of the Baiji dolphin was in 2002. Currently considered “critically endangered,” the Baiji dolphin will soon be considered “extinct,” making the species the first dolphin species to be driven to extinction by humans.

How many dolphins are left in the world?

Bottlenose dolphins are not endangered or threatened. The worldwide population of common bottlenose dolphins is about 600,000.

Which dolphin is extinct?

Yangtze River dolphin
The Yangtze River dolphin is now almost certainly extinct, making it the first dolphin that humans drove to extinction, scientists have now concluded after an intense search for the endangered species.

Why did the baiji river dolphin become extinct?

This would make the baiji the first cetacean-that is, dolphin, porpoise or whale-to go extinct because of humans. The species was probably driven to extinction by harmful fishing practices that were not even devised to harm the dolphins, such as the use of gill nets, rolling hooks or electrical stunning.

Why are baiji dolphins endangered?

The decline in the baiji dolphin population is attributed to a variety of factors including overfishing, boat traffic, habitat loss, pollution and poaching.

How long do baiji dolphins live for?

How long do Baiji dolphins live ? Based on dentition, a wild individual was estimated to have lived 24 years . Currently only found in the Yangtze River of China.

How did the baiji dolphin go extinct?

Nevertheless, the Baiji was recently declared extinct. The baiji’s demise can be attributed to over fishing, its lethal environment and the Great Leap Forward in China. Excessive and illegal fishing was a great threat to the baiji’s way of life.