Yangtze finless porpoise Tao Tao swims at the Baiji Dolphin House under the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, July 5, 2023. Three generations of researchers at the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have spent decades rescuing and nursing endangered species - the Baiji dolphin and the Yangtze finless porpoise. The latter is dubbed the "smiling angel of the Yangtze River" as its slightly curly lips resemble those of a smiling person. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Baiji dolphin Qi Qi passed away in July 2002 after living for more than 22 years at the Baiji Dolphin House under CAS Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan. There was no more Baiji dolphin at the house after Qi Qi's death, but the house and the Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation kept their names unchanged. Researchers there decided to apply protective measures designed for Baiji dolphins to their "cousins" - Yangtze finless porpoises.

Eleven Yangtze finless porpoises are now raised at the Baiji Dolphin House, four of which were bred in artificial environments. China has also established a number of in-situ and ex-situ reserves for these aquatic mammals, and the finless porpoises living there, about 150 in total, are capable of natural reproduction.

On April 25, 2023, four Yangtze finless porpoises ex-situ protected at the Yangtze River Swan Island Baiji Dolphin National Nature Reserve were released in batches into the Xinluo and Shishou sections along the main stream of Yangtze River, which successfully completed the last key link in the closed loop of protection technology system for Yangtze finless porpoises.

Data from the Yangtze Finless Porpoise Expedition 2022 across the whole Yangtze River basin showed their population had reached 1,249, a historic "rebound."

Hao Yujiang, an associate researcher at the CAS Institute of Hydrobiology, served as the group leader for Yichang-Chenglingji section during the expedition in 2022. "We could see more green along the Yangtze River, the river bank looked more natural, and there were more fish in the water," he said, adding, "We are also more optimistic that these 'smiling angels' would have a better future." (Xinhua)

Tang Bin (L) and Feng Yuanze, members of the cetacean conservation biology group under the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), give a B-ultrasound examination to Yangtze finless porpoise Fu Jiu at the Baiji Dolphin House under the CAS Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, July 12, 2023. Three generations of researchers at the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have spent decades rescuing and nursing endangered species - the Baiji dolphin and the Yangtze finless porpoise. The latter is dubbed the "smiling angel of the Yangtze River" as its slightly curly lips resemble those of a smiling person. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Hao Yujiang, an associate researcher of the the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), conducts an observation of the Yangtze finless porpoise at the Shishou section of Yangtze River in central China's Hubei Province, Sept 23, 2022. Three generations of researchers at the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have spent decades rescuing and nursing endangered species - the Baiji dolphin and the Yangtze finless porpoise. The latter is dubbed the "smiling angel of the Yangtze River" as its slightly curly lips resemble those of a smiling person. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) 

This aerial photo taken on May 11, 2021 shows three Yangtze finless porpoises swimming in the section of Yangtze River in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province. Three generations of researchers at the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have spent decades rescuing and nursing endangered species - the Baiji dolphin and the Yangtze finless porpoise. The latter is dubbed the "smiling angel of the Yangtze River" as its slightly curly lips resemble those of a smiling person. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Hao Yujiang, an associate researcher of the the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), observes a Yangtze finless porpoise at the Baiji Dolphin House under his institute in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, on July 12, 2023. Three generations of researchers at the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have spent decades rescuing and nursing endangered species - the Baiji dolphin and the Yangtze finless porpoise. The latter is dubbed the "smiling angel of the Yangtze River" as its slightly curly lips resemble those of a smiling person. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) 

Staff members carry out observation work during the Yangtze Finless Porpoise Expedition 2022 in the Shishou section of Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 23, 2022. Three generations of researchers at the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have spent decades rescuing and nursing endangered species - the Baiji dolphin and the Yangtze finless porpoise. The latter is dubbed the "smiling angel of the Yangtze River" as its slightly curly lips resemble those of a smiling person. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)