Yangtze Finless Porpoise

 Leighanna Weems                                                                                                                         Weems 1

Professor Foster 

ENG 111 2WF 

8 April 2023  

Yangtze Finless Porpoise 

           The Yangtze Finless porpoise is an intelligent dolphin found in the Yangtze River in Asia. This river was home to two well-known porpoise species, the Yangtze Finless, and the Baiji, but due to competition over food, the Baiji dolphin species became extinct. Dolphins need a large amount of food to survive in their natural habitats, causing a lot of competition between species. Although the Baiji's extinction benefited the Finless species by lowering the competition for a short time, it decreased marine wildlife diversity and affected the river's ecosystem. Overfishing is still a huge threat to the Finless porpoise, which is why they are classified as an endangered species.

            Luckily, there are conservation organizations taking action to help these species. The World Wildlife Organization has "reconnected more than 40 floodplain lakes with the main stem of the Yangtze River to restore seasonal flows and allow the migration of species, like the finless porpoise, between the lakes and the river" (1) This increases food resources for the Finless porpoise, unlike in their natural habitat. The World Wildlife Organization is also advocating for other income sources for fishermen to correct the overfishing issue throughout the Yangtze River. The best way we can help this species; is by supporting organizations, such as World Wildlife, in their efforts to conserve wildlife diversity.   

A Yangtze Finless porpoise enjoying a fishy meal 

 

Weems 2

Work Cited 

(Image) Wang, Kelly. “Smiling at Danger, China's Finless Porpoise Fights to Survive.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 20 Dec. 2018, https://phys.org/news/2018-12-danger-china-finless-porpoise-survive.html.

(1) “Yangtze Finless Porpoise.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/yangtze-finless-porpoise.