A quick update on the almost certain extinction of the baiji in China (Older Than Mankind... And Gone Forever).Reuters:
Chinese scientists will continue to search for a rare freshwater dolphin unique to the Yangtze River, although it is possibly extinct after a 38-day search failed to find any, Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.
Foreign experts have already concluded that the baiji, or white-flag dolphin, is extinct, becoming a victim of development, overfishing and shipping along China's longest river.
Wang Ding, head of a team of scientists that concluded their fruitless search for the baiji last week, said the efforts to search for and protect the dolphin should continue as there might be some of the mammals left in the wild.
"We will try every effort to save them as long as it is not announced to be extinct," said Wang, who is also vice director of the hydrobiology institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
While it's worth noting that the man who'd declared the baiji 'functionally extinct,' August Pfluger, had nothing but praise for Wang Ding, it's also important to remember that Wang's a chinese government official. It's likely that the continued search is an attempt by the chinese government to avoid embarrassment ofver the loss of this species.
Tags: news | politics | China | science | endangered species | environment | baiji
