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BEIJING, Nov. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from China.org.cn on China’s efforts to protect Yangtze finless porpoise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeeZpJbI6zk

In a recent poll, netizens voted to name a rare Yangtze finless porpoise. Efforts to protect this endangered species have shown promising signs in China during the past few years.

Recently, an online poll was held to choose a name for a Yangtze finless porpoise code-named “YYc.” After the voting concluded, a team of experts selected “Hanbao” from the most popular replies, which has the same pronunciation as “hamburger” in Chinese. The name really suits it since the calf’s chubby body is just like a hamburger. Moreover it was born in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province. “Hanbao” means “Wuhan’s treasure” in Chinese.

Hanbao is indeed a treasure.

The 2-year-old male calf is China’s first artificially-bred second-generation Yangtze finless porpoise. Its father Taotao is the world’s first Yangtze finless porpoise to be bred naturally in an artificial environment.

The breeding of Hanbao shows that Yangtze finless porpoises born in an artificial environment can produce offspring, marking a breakthrough and a new stage in the artificial breeding of the species.

But why has such a little porpoise drawn so much attention?

Because it’s undoubtedly cute, but also critically endangered.

According to data and scientific surveys, from 1992 to 2012, the number of Yangtze finless porpoises, an iconic species of the Yangtze River, plummeted from about 2,700 to around 1,040.

The decreasing speed is shocking. If protection is not strengthened, the endangered mammal is very likely to suffer the same fate as the baiji dolphin, nicknamed the “Goddess of the Yangtze River,” which is now considered functionally extinct.

To conserve the “Smiling Angel,” affectionately named for its mouth fixed in a permanent grin, over the past decade, China has imposed a 10-year fishing ban in the Yangtze, enacted the Yangtze River Protection Law, and launched the Yangtze River Finless Porpoises Rescue Action Plan (2016-2025). Efforts have also been stepped up in research and practice through on-site conservation, ex-situ conservation, and artificial breeding and reproduction.

Fortunately, the protection work has delivered encouraging results. The rate of decline has slowed significantly and bottomed out around 2017. One year after the fishing ban was implemented in 2021, a population survey showed positive momentum, with nearby residents reporting seeing “more and plumper Yangtze finless porpoises.” The aquatic animals can often be seen swimming in groups, with calves cuddling up to their mothers. At conservation reserves along the Yangtze River in Hubei, the number of the porpoises has increased from the original five to 150. Four artificially-bred Yangtze finless porpoises including Taotao have grown up healthily.

These achievements can be attributed to the joint efforts of the government, research institutions and the general public. However, despite the enhanced protection, we still have a long way to go in helping the species to recover. Various problems still need to be addressed, such as unattended areas in on-site conservation and the risk of complete failure of ex-situ conservation.

In the next 10 years, 20 years, 100 years… the conservation efforts cannot and will not stop, so that future generations can see a large number of finless porpoises navigate the clear waters of the Yangtze.

China Mosaic

http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Yangtze finless porpoise: Protecting China’s ‘Smiling Angel’

http://chinamosaic.china.com.cn/2022-11/11/content_78513611.htm

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yangtze-finless-porpoise-protecting-chinas-smiling-angel-301675315.html

BEIJING, July 23, 2021 — A news report by China.org.cn on China’s wildlife protection:

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Pandas must be quite familiar to you all. But it has recently been "downgraded".

However, this isn’t bad news. With more than 1,800 giant pandas now living in the wild, China has downgraded the animal’s status from "endangered" to "vulnerable." Back in 1988, the population of wild giant pandas in China was just 1,114.

Boosting the population by more than 60% has been no easy task. The protection of giant pandas requires extensive research and surveying, which cannot be done from inside an office. Rangers in nature reserves need to conduct habitat and bamboo surveys, as well as collect panda droppings in the field. Leaving early in the morning for work and returning late at night after walking dozens of kilometers along mountain paths, these have become their daily routines. But merely protecting animals themselves is not enough. Habitat contraction and falling bamboo yields due to monocarpic flowering and climate change all threaten the survival of giant pandas. Therefore, habitat conservation and reconstruction of bamboo forests are also essential tasks. Thanks to years of efforts, China has become well acquainted with the habits of giant pandas and developed more accurate survey and statistical methods. More than 60 nature reserves have been established to expand their habitats.

In recent years, China has made notable progress in protecting wildlife, especially rare and endangered species. The number of the previously critically endangered crested ibis has increased from just seven in 1981 to several thousand; the Chinese mountain cat, one of the rarest and most mysterious cat species, was spotted in Qilian Mountain National Park in Qinghai province; rufous-necked hornbills reappeared in the mountain forests of Yunnan province after disappearing for decades.

More recently, news stories about wildlife have captured public attention. While a herd of wild Asian elephants migrated northward, authorities redirected them away from densely populated areas using tempting snacks and roadblocks, and have started work on building an Asian elephant national park; multiple measures were taken to rescue melon-headed whales stranded in shallow waters; authorities restricted boat activities to protect a Bryde’s whale foraging in the waters off Shenzhen. These examples of wildlife conservation demonstrate the harmonious coexistence of human beings and animals.

To promote human progress while ensuring the survival of wildlife, we need to strike a harmonious and delicate balance. With continued efforts, more and more cute wild animals like giant pandas will appear all over the world.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm
Giant pandas ‘downgraded’: A wildlife success story
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2021-07/23/content_77647779.htm

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Yangtze finless porpoise: Protecting China’s ‘Smiling Angel’

Giant pandas ‘downgraded’: A wildlife success story

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