The document details the history, characteristics, and extinction causes of the Yangtze River dolphin, also known as the Baiji. It highlights conservation efforts, including potential breeding and management strategies, and the impact of human activities like pollution, industrialization, and unsafe fishing practices on the species' decline. The Baiji was declared functionally extinct in modern times, with significant emphasis on the story of a captive dolphin named Qiqi who lived for over 22 years in a zoo after being rescued from the wild.

1. YA NG T Z E
R I V E R
D O L P H I N

2. B y e B y e B a i j i
( Ya n g t z e R i v e r D o l p h i n )
K AT H Y P H A M - “ H I ST O RY O F E X T I NC T I O N ”
- G E O G R A P H Y 12 6 - S U M M E R 2 017
P H O T O G R A P H : St e p h e n L e a t h e r w o o d
2 5 M i l l i o n Ye a r s A g o - 2 0 0 6

3. s
M A P : C o n s e r v a t i o n e f fo r t s o f t h e b a ij i a l o n g t h e Ya n g t z e R i ve r b y
C h r i s _ h u h f r o m W i k i p e d i a - s e l f m a d e f r o m d a t a f r o m b a ij i . o rg
O V E R 1,10 0 M I L E S L O NG
2 0 M i l l i o n Ye a r s A g o e n t e r e d Ya n g t z e

4. R I V E R
D O L P H I N S
Fa m i ly
P l a t a n i s t i d a e
( I n d i a n d o l p h i n s )
I L L U ST R AT I O N : G e i s l e r e t a l . - G e i s l e r e t a l . : A s u p e r m a t r i x a n a ly s i s o f ge n o m i c , m o r p h o l o g i c a l , a n d
p a l e o n t o l o g i c a l d a t a f r o m c r ow n C e t a c e a . B M C E vo l u t i o n a r y B i o l o g y 2 011 11 : 112 .
Fa m i ly
P o n t o p o r i i d a e
( b r a ck i s h d o l p h i n s )
Fa m i ly † L i p o t i d a e
( C h i n e s e r i ve r d o l p h i n )
Fa m i ly I n i i d a e
( A m a z o n i a n d o l p h i n s )
1
2
3
4
L i p o t e s v e x i l l i fe r

5. YA NG T Z E R I V E R D O L P H I N S
P H O T O G R A P H : Av a l o n , A l a my St o ck P h o t o
G e n u s s p e c i e s : L i p o t e s v e x i l l i fe r
Fa m i l y : L i p o t i d a e
K i n g d o m : A n i m a l i a
P h y l u m : C h o r d a t a
O r d e r : C e t a c e a
C l a s s : M a m m a l i a
P H Y S I C A L
F E AT U R E S
& B E H AV I O R

6. B R E E D I NG PAT T E R N S
Females become sexually mature at eight years of age, males at
six years. These dolphins have a birthing interval of 2 years.
I L L U ST R AT I O N : Un k n ow n s o u r c e
v i a P i n t e r e s t
I L L U ST R AT I O N : Un k n ow n
s o u r c e v i a t h e D o d o
G e s t a t i o n :
10
m o n t h s
At b i r t h :
3 2 - 3 5
i n c h e s

7. I L L U ST R AT I O N : S e mp l e , A , B o rge r, P, C l e e l a n d , C , J a cke l , S a n d Pa p p a s , X 2 0 0 6 , ' B i o l o g y V C E Un i t s 1 & 2 : 2 n d
e d i t i o n ' , Ne l s o n C e n ga ge L e a r n i n g , Au s t r a l i a
P H O T O G R A P H : St e p h e n L e a t h e r w o o d
P H Y S I C A L
F E AT U R E S
& B E H AV I O R
We i g h s 13 2 t o 3 5 0 l b s
S w i m s u p t o 3 7 mp h
B o d y L e n g t h 4 . 9 t o 8 . 2 5 f t
B i o s o n a r / E c h o l o c a t i o n

8. WA R N I NG
G R A P H I C
C O N T E N T

10. C AU S E S F O R E X T I NC T I O N
P H O T O G R A P H : C o n s e r v a t i o n Fo u n d a t i o n ,
H o n g Ko n g v i a S o u t h C h i n a M o r n i n g Po s t
Un s a fe F i s h i n g P r a c t i c e s
I n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n
D a m C o n s t r u c t i o n
C l i m a t e C h a n g e
1
2
3
4
Wa t e r P o l l u t i o n
PHOTOGRAPH:ConservationFoundation,
HongKongviaSouthChinaMorningPost

11. C AU S E S F O R E X T I NC T I O N
P H O T O G R A P H : C o n s e r v a t i o n Fo u n d a t i o n ,
H o n g Ko n g v i a S o u t h C h i n a M o r n i n g Po s t
1
2
3
4
Na t u r a l H a b i t a t L o s s &
S p e c i e s F r a g m e n t a t i o n
C o mp e t i t i o n fo r Fo o d
S u p p l y
O v e r f i s h i n g &
D e a t h b y B y c a t c h
PHOTOGRAPH:ConservationFoundation,
HongKongviaSouthChinaMorningPost
S t r e s s &
D i s e a s e

12. P H O T O G R A P H : S a m T u r ve y, Z o o l o g i c a l
S o c i e t y o f L o n d o n v i a Na t u r a l H i s t o r y
M u s e u m , L o n d o n
G O D D E S S

13. L U NC H
P H O T O G R A P H : " 10 t h A n n i ve r s a r y P h o t o
C o l l e c t i o n o f t h e Pe o p l e ' s R e p u b l i c o f C h i n a
19 4 9 - 19 5 9 " p u b l i s h e d b y 10 t h A n n i ve r s a r y
P h o t o C o l l e c t i o n o f t h e Pe o p l e ' s R e p u b l i c o f
C h i n a E d i t o r i a l C o m m i t t e e .

14. 19 5 0 s S t a r t o f t h e e n d
P H O T O G R A P H : Wa n g D i n g , I n s t i t u t e o f
H y d r o b i o l o g y, Wu h a n , C h i n a

15. 19 5 0 s A b o u t 6 , 0 0 0 ( T u r v e y e t a l . , 2 0 0 5 )
: 10 0

16. 19 8 0 s A b o u t 4 0 0 ( Z h o u e t a l . , 19 8 2 )
: 10 0

17. 1
2
“In 2002, a captive male Yangtze
River Dolphin named 'Qiqi' died of old
age after surviving in the Wuhan
dolphinarium, a Chinese zoo for over
22 years. It is the first captive
dolphin of its kind. […]
Qiqi was two years old when he was
accidentally hunted by fishermen
back in January 12, 1980. Due to his
bad injury, he was relocated to a huge
pool nicknamed “White Palace” built
especially for him. […]
In 1986, the zoo thought it was time
for the 8-year-old Qiqi to have a
family. They found two female
companions for Qiqi.
Unfortunately, these two dolphins did
not adapt to the environment as well
as Qiqi, and the zoo was unable to find
any more of his peers. So Qiqi
remained alone and lonely for most of
his life.”
P H O T O G R A P H : P h o t o o f Q i q i ,
Un k n ow n v i a W i n d H o r s e To u r. c o m
C O N S E R VAT I O N E F F O RT S

18. 1
2
3
4
E x s i t u B r e e d i n g a n d R e c o v e r y
P r o g r a m s ( p o s s i b l y c l o n i n g )
Wa t e r p o l l u t i o n c o n t r o l , i mp r o v e d
m a n a g e m e n t o f s e w e r a n d i n d u s t r i a l
p l a n t w a s t e
B a n o n I l l e g a l F i s h i n g
P r a c t i c e s i n S a fe Z o n e s
E d u c a t i o n a l c a mp a i g n s : b a i j i . o rg
( Au g u s t P l f u g e r, n o w d e f u n c t
w e b s i t e )
C O N S E R VAT I O N E F F O RT S
P H O T O G R A P H : Un k n ow n v i a W h a l e a n d
D o l p h i n C o n s e r v a t i o n we b s i t e

19. P H O T O G R A P H : Wa n g D i n g , I n s t i t u t e o f
H y d r o b i o l o g y, Wu h a n , C h i n a
2 0 0 0 s? ? ? We d o n ’ t k n o w.
P H O T O G R A P H : Un k n ow n v i a W i r e d a r t i c l e
F u n c t i o n a l l yE x t i n c t
Fruitless 1,100 mile expedition

20. 2 0 0 0 s? ? ? We d o n ’ t k n o w. ( S O U RC E )
P H O T O G R A P H : X i a o q i a n g Wa n g v i a
M o n ga b ay

21. P H O T O G R A P H : Ya n g t z e F i n l e s s Po r p o i s e
C o n s e r v a t i o n S o c i e t y
A Ne w Fo c u s
Ya n g t z e F i n l e s s P o r p o i s e
( Ne o p h o c a e n a p h o c a e n o i d e s )
Number Left: 1000-1800
Size: 6.2 feet

22. P H O T O G R A P H : G a o B a oy a n , C h i n a D a i ly
T h a n k s fo r L i s t e n i n g !

23. B I B L I O G R A P H Y
“Rare river dolphin 'now extinct'”. BBC News. August 8, 2007. Web. <http://
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6935343.stm>.
“Baiji”. IUCN-SSC Cetacean Specialist Group. December 2015. Web. <http://
www.iucn-csg.org/index.php/baiji/>.
Gregg, Jusin. “Despite rumours of a sighting, the Yangtze River dolphin is still
extinct”. EarthTouch News Network. October 17, 2016. Web. <https://
www.earthtouchnews.com/conservation/human-impact/despite-rumours-of-
a-sighting-the-yangtze-river-dolphin-is-still-extinct/>.
Long, Tony. “DEC. 12, 2006: IT'S ALL OVER FOR THE BAIJI FRESHWATER
DOLPHIN”. Wired. Web. <https://www.wired.com/2007/12/dayintech-1212/>.
Luo, Tracy. “Yangtze River Dolphin - Interesting Facts - Story of Qiqi”.
WindhorseTour. December 10, 2013. Web. <windhorsetour.com/culture-guide/
yangtze-river-dolphin-interesting-facts-story>.
Mok, Danny. “Chinese white dolphin with broken tail is found lifeless at sea in
sixth death this year”. South China Morning Post. June 1, 2015. Web.
<www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1814360/
chinese-white-dolphin-broken-tail-found-lifeless>.
Turvey, S. T., Barrett, L. A., Reeves, R.R., Wang, D. “Conservation of the
Yangtze River dolphin: Emergency implementation meeting”. San Diego,
December 17-18, 2005. Final Report.
“THE BAIJI - THE FIRST DOLPHIN TO BE DECLARED EXTINCT IN MODERN
TIMES”. Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Web. <http://us.whales.org/case-
study/baiji-first-dolphin-to-be-declared-extinct-in-modern-times>.
Zhou, K., Y. Li, M. Nishiwaki and T. Kataoka. “A brief report on observations
of the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River
between Nanjing and Guichi.” Acta Theriologica Sinica 2:253-254. 1982.
Print.