http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005844811
Chinese Dolphin Deemed "Functionally Extinct"
December 13, 2006 12:05 p.m. EST
Mary K. Brunskill - All Headline News Staff Writer
Beijing, China (AHN) - A conservationist said Wednesday that a Chinese freshwater dolphin that lived in the Yangtze River is effectively extinct. An international team spent 39 days looking for the dolphin and did not find a single one, according to conservationist August Pfluger.
"There is of course a chance that we missed one or two animals, but we didn't see any and we had the best people on board our boat and the best possible technology. The baiji is functionally extinct," Pfluger said, according to AP.
"I am terribly sad. I think it is a tragedy that we weren't fast enough to save the species," he said. "We did not know the baiji was that close to extinction."
The baiji dates back about 20 million years. It's believed that this is the first time in 50 years that a mammal has become extinct.
Pfluger, the Swiss co-leader of the joint Chinese-foreign expedition, said there may still be a few baiji, but not enough to breed and prevent extinction.
The dolphin's declining numbers are probably due to overfishing and shipping traffic because the engines interfere with the sonar the it uses to navigate and feed, he said.
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