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Yangtze river dolphin rediscovered!

Discussion in 'Wildlife & Nature Conservation' started by lintworm, 2 May 2018.

  1. lintworm

    lintworm Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    On April 18th a Yangtze river dolphin (Baji) was sighted in the wild. The Baji was thought to be extinct since 2007. If true then it would probably still be too late to save this species, but there is at least a glimmer of hope.

    CBCGDF on Twitter
     
  2. Tatsuslava

    Tatsuslava Well-Known Member

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    yaaaaayyyyyy they still live!
     
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  3. Fallax

    Fallax Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    This is the best news this year so far, and a huge surprise!
     
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  4. birdsandbats

    birdsandbats Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)



    YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
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  5. TheGerenuk

    TheGerenuk Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

    Nice! I always like hearing this kind of news!
     
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  6. TheEthiopianWolf03

    TheEthiopianWolf03 Well-Known Member

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    YES!!!!!!!!!!
     
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  7. Loxodonta Cobra

    Loxodonta Cobra Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Finally!!!:eek::eek::eek::D:D:D:):):)
     
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  8. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Bittersweet news, given the fact it merely prolongs the inevitable..... :(
     
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  9. FunkyGibbon

    FunkyGibbon Well-Known Member

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    Has anyone found a better news source yet?
     
  10. birdsandbats

    birdsandbats Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Nope. And I looked.
     
  11. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    I've certainly not found any other mentions online - which leads to the second point which must be made; that there is every possibility the animal photographed was a Finless Porpoise and not a Baiji.
     
  12. birdsandbats

    birdsandbats Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    While it is possible, the animal in the photo appears to a Baiji.
     
  13. Mehdi

    Mehdi Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    @birdsandbats: How can you tell? The picture is definitely too blurry for me to see if it's a porpoise or a dolphin.

    If it is indeed a dolphin (which wouldn't surprise me as there have been quite some reports in recent years), it is some very good news. If it's a porpoise, it's still a good news because the Yangtze finless porpoise is endangered and declining, but less so than if it was a dolphin; I guess.
     
  14. Hyak_II

    Hyak_II Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    While I want this to be true, I am decidedly skeptical on the whole thing. Besides the fact there have been no sightings in over ten years, this decidedly lower quality photo isn't very telling, and the color is also quite unusual. I don't believe its a porpoise, they are a notably different grey color, and also have a VERY low profile when they surface. Yet still, I'm not convinced its a dolphin either, as they were also more of a light grey color, as opposed to pink.

    Honestly, I think it might just be a large dead catfish that got carried up to the surface for a second, but that's just me.
     
  15. birdsandbats

    birdsandbats Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Yangtze Finless Porpoises don't have much for a snout, as can be seen in these pictures:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Baijis, however, have a long snout:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    The animal in the photo appears to have a snout.
     
  16. Mehdi

    Mehdi Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I think that might just be a distortion or something similar, honestly. Might as well be a beak of course. In any case, more research in the area would be interesting.
     
  17. pachyderm pro

    pachyderm pro Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I'd caution everyone to take this with a grain of salt. If it's a dolphin, porpoise or any other cetacean that is very good news. However, the theory presented by @Hyak_II is one that could certainly make sense, as disappointing as it would be. Also considering no one is able to find a single article about what should be very important and exciting news, I can't say that the rather poor image we see above is what we think/hope it is.
     
  18. birdsandbats

    birdsandbats Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    The Yangtze is in China...
     
  19. pachyderm pro

    pachyderm pro Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Excuse me while I edit my post...
     
  20. ZooBinh

    ZooBinh Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Maybe the picture is blurry, but the people that saw it knew it was a baiji.... I’m just staying on the hopeful side...