Thursday 3 May 2012

Yangtze Finless porpoise on the edge of extinction

WWF deeply concerned over deaths of vulnerable Yangtze finless porpoises
May 2012. WWF is deeply concerned over the reported deaths of over 32 vulnerable Yangtze finless porpoises since the beginning of the year, and is working with authorities and local communities to prevent the tragedy from reoccurring. 

32 porpoises found dead
Since 3 March 2012, more than 32 porpoises have been found dead in Dongting and Poyang lakes - nine of them over a one-week period.

The only freshwater finless porpoise in the world, the Yangtze finless porpoise lives mainly in the Yangtze River and two large lakes - Dongting and Poyang - and the recent spike in deaths is raising concerns that the rare animals are being pushed closer to extinction.
"This tragedy shows that Yangtze finless porpoise is facing enormous challenges," said Lei Gang, head of WWF China's Central Yangtze programme. "The porpoise deaths illustrates that without effective measures to fundamentally reverse the trend of ecological deterioration, future of the incredible creature is far from certain. We have to act immediately."
Illegal fishing, accidents part of the blame
Analysis of the deaths reveal an a long list of culprits thought to be pushing the rare species' numbers down, including electrofishing (which uses electricity to stun fish before they are caught), accidents with boat engine propellers, food shortages and poison.

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