Yangtze Finless Porpoise

The Yangtze river’s finless porpoise is one of the very few porpoises (relatives of dolphins and whales) that live in fresh water. Its small size and cute 'smile' make it much loved in China and beyond. But we need to prevent it going the same way as the functionally extinct Yangtze river dolphin, also known as the Baiji. 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.

Why they are endangered

Lack of natural prey because of overfishing in rivers. Large numbers of Yangtze Finless Porpoise are also accidentally entangled in fishing gear, or struck my boats because of overfishing. Pollution and ship movement contribute too.

The Yangtze Finless Porpoise’s small size and cute smile makes it beloved in China and across the world. This little Porpoise lives in the freshwater Yangtze river (longest river in Asia) and is also a relative of dolphins and whales. The Propoise’s main diet consists of fish much like a dolphin and also are known for its intelligence much like a dolphin. The average adult weighs up to 71.8 kg and is usually 1.5-1.8 meters. The Yangtze Finless Porpoise lives up to 20-22 years.

Linear-regression predicting model--number of Yangtze Finless Porpoise vs relative years