Scientists who are conducting a survey of endangered finless porpoises on the Yangtze River said Monday that they also hope to find white-flag dolphins (baiji or Yangtze River dolphin), a native species that was declared extinct in 2007.
2012 Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition is on the way. (Photo by Gao Baoyan, journalist from Changjiang Daily)
The survey team, who started its research on Sunday, reached a white-flag dolphin nature reserve in central China's Hubei Province on Monday.
"It is not impossible to find white-flag dolphins on the Yangtze River. It's one of the main goals of our survey," said Wang Ding, head of the survey team.
In 2006, a similar survey by Chinese and foreign scientists failed to find white-flag dolphins on the Yangtze River, China's longest.
In 2007, scientists announced that white-flag dolphins had gone "functionally extinct," meaning that the population is too small for the species to effectively reproduce.
"There is still the possibility of finding one or two white-flag dolphins on the Yangtze. We are looking forward to a miracle," said Wang Kexiong, deputy head of the survey team.
The white-flag dolphin is under first-class state protection and is among the 12 most endangered species in the world. In 2004, the body of a white-flag dolphin was found on the bank of the Yangtze, the last known proof of the species' existence. (Xinhua)
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