Monday 2 April 2007

Yangtze River Dolphin extinct

The Yangtze River dolphin (also known as the baiji) has been declared functionally extinct. This nearly blind dolphin, believed by legend to be a reincarnation of a princess, had swum the waters of the Yangtze for 20 million years. Read more at National Geographic.

Now that an extinct species is closer to us than the dodo and more cuddly than an obscure species of plant or insect, are we going to start taking note of what's happening to the world's unique natural heritage?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another mass extinction is nearly here. But, we have nothing at all to do with the changes in the climate.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Contoversial comment there Brian, and I'll not get involved in argument! Though I'll accept we're not solely responsible for the changes in the climate.

Anonymous said...

It was meant to be sarcastic, based on all the political posturing that goes on. Sorry if I upset you. :(

Crafty Green Poet said...

Oh dear; Brian! I usually pick up on sarcasm better than that!

polona said...

how sad!

Unknown said...

It breaks my heart. I hear the song going through my head "Another one bites the dust..."
I have a fantasy that one day they will clone some of these lost species and resurrect them. Who cares about the dinosaurs? I don't want to meet a T rex anyway. But a dodo, passenger pigeon and now this dolphin. Worthy projects. But not just to excuse humanity's carelessness. And not to confine them to zoos either.