It seems the most endangered mammal on earth, a species of freshwater dolphin from the Yangtze River in China, is now extinct. That's the conclusion from a group of specialists who recently spent six weeks searching for the dolphin, also known as the baiji, along the Yangtze.
The extinction of the baiji has taken place at a time of unprecedented interest and concern for their large relative, the minke whale. We have know for some time that there are probably over a million minke whales, but perhaps no more than a dozen baiji. Yet so much money has been spent campaigning to "save the minke whale". Where are our priorities when it comes to conservation? I wrote on this issue in the last IPA Review in a piece entitled, "The Loss of the Baiji'.
This picture is from www.baiji.org.
Click here and you can listen to a recording of the baiji's whistle.
So beautiful.
Paul Watson vs Greenpeace:
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,1975368,00.html
Slideshow from the Baiji expedition:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/slideshow/page/0,,1955482,00.html
Dunno where my last post disappeared?
Shortly. Once I brought up the issue with environmental problems and GP China's work with a GP Hong Kong staff. It seemed like this issue was very sensitive. Remember he said some improvements were made re NGO work and mentioned for example Animal Asia's work against bear-bile farming.
Hi George,
Dunno exactly in which thread this was discussed, but methink I brought it up as well...
My opinion was that it seemed difficult for NGOs like Greenpeace to carry out actions in China , the way they carry out actions in Western countries.
I think it is OK for scientists to speak out in China, but to make a Greenpeace protest against the Government policy seems actually kind of dangerous. This issue is of course very politically charged...
Libby and George,
Kolmården Dolphinarium in Sweden is supposed to be the biggest and best dolphinarium in Europe...and as far as I know they have no paneled removable roof.
I have been in contact in the past with a NGO regarding the captivity issue and Kolmården. They stated this issue has not the highest priority on their agenda.
The dolphinarium will certainly not be closed down. It is actually one of Swedens biggest tourist attractions.
If there is any opposition they state that the dolphins are born in captivity and hence not suffer as much as dolphins brought in directly from the wild...
I agree that dolphinariums etc have played an important role in the past to raise awareness
Well, my concern is not only about dolphins and their relatives.... from what I have heard , the animals that suffer most from captivity are polar bears...
We used to have them polar bears in Stockholm ( Skansen), they showed this sterotypical behavior in small surroundings and finally no more polar bears were allowed in Sweden.
Pinxi ...
" That point about obstacles to interfering in Chinese issues has been discussed here before but naturally it still gets ignored in the GP bashing hysteria."
Hmmmm .. so it´s not ok to interfere in Chinese issues, because " " these people listen to no-one " or because of other obstacles ( which? )
Care to point me to the thread where these issues are discussed Pinx??
Hi:
Steve wrtes: "What would be the point of Greenpeace sinking millions into a "Save the Baiji" campaign that would have had zero chance of success?"
Well the (critically endangered) Chinese alligator hit a successful turning point recently, under some excellent work by some Chinese scientists and with the assistance of the IUCN-SSC Crocodile Specialist Group. Conservation may be hard in China, but it is not impossible.
The point of GP sinking a lot of money into the baiji would I imagine be:
a) it might have saved the species; and
b) it may focus attention on the very many obscure species on the brink of extinction, and away from more common species facing trivial conservation threats.
Chthonic regards
B
That point about obstacles to interfering in Chinese issues has been discussed here before but naturally it still gets ignored in the GP bashing hysteria.