Tag: Marine mammals

Qutang-Schlucht am Jangtse (Changjiang) in der Drei-Schluchten-Region in China
The Qutang Gorge on the Yangtze (Three Gorges region): heavily burdened for decades—a study now shows the first signs of ecological recovery. (© Tan Wei Liang Byorn, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Hope for the Yangtze: study shows how a fishing ban is reviving the river

The Yangtze River is Asia’s longest river at over 6,300 kilometers and the third-longest river in the world. For millennia it was among the world’s most species-rich freshwater ecosystems. It supplied people, animals, and entire cultures with water, food, and habitat—and formed the ecological backbone of large parts of China.

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Chinesischer Flussdelfin / Baiji
Illustration of the Chinese river dolphin (baiji)—once a characteristic resident of the Yangtze. With its long, narrow snout and the sickle-shaped dorsal fin, the baiji was unmistakable. Today, the species is considered “functionally extinct”. (© Doc Taxon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Chinese river dolphin: Is the baiji still alive?

The last confirmed sighting of the baiji, also known as the Chinese river dolphin, is now more than 20 years ago. The IUCN therefore classifies the species as “Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct)”. Scientifically, its continued existence is considered extremely unlikely, but occasional sighting reports and video recordings at least leave

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Polar bears could soon become extinct
If warming exceeds two degrees above pre-industrial levels, the southern and western Hudson Bay polar bear populations face local extinction. (© Arturo de Frias Marques, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Global warming: Polar bears could go extinct as early as the 2030s

The future of polar bears in Hudson Bay, Canada, looks bleak: a new study warns that the bears could disappear regionally as early as the 2030s if global warming continues to rise and crosses critical thresholds. Researchers from several North American and international institutions warn that a global temperature increase

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vom Aussterben bedroht: Vaquita
The vaquita, or Gulf of California porpoise, is among the smallest whales in the world, at around one and a half meters long and weighing about 50 kilograms. (© Paula Olson, NOAA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Vaquita: New video footage of the rarest marine mammal in the world

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) has been one of the most endangered mammals in the world since the extinction of the Chinese river dolphin (Baiji) in 2002. Recently, Sea Shepherd released the latest results of their most recent vaquita survey during a press conference. The environmental organization presented footage showing a

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