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How many finless porpoises are left inChina ’s Yangtze River ? An expedition is under way to count how many of these endangered animals pull round in the to a great extent contaminated watercourse .
There are less than 1,800 of the animals in the state of nature , chiefly in the central and lower reaches of the 3,915 - mile ( 6,300 kilometers)Yangtze Riverand two big adjoining lake , Dongting and Poyang .
The Yangtze finless porpoise.
Two late surveys found that population of the jeopardise animate being , the only freshwater finless porpoise in the world , had plummeted in Dongting Lake . number in Poyang , however , remained comparatively stable — 450 porpoise were depend there , the WWF , which is helping to organize the despatch , reported .
Nevertheless , estimate paint a picture the animal could go extinct within 15 years if major stairs are n’t taken to address the porpoise ’s plight . It ’s most threatened by water pollution , sand dredging , smash by boat propeller and electro - fishing , a technique that stun fish — and porpoises — by sending an electrical current into the pee , agree to the WWF .
The dispatch comes six years after a alike trek along the Yangtze that failed to bump any surviving Baiji dolphins , a nigh congenator of the finless porpoise that was subsequently declared functionally out .
The Yangtze finless porpoise.
" We are not optimistic about the estimated upshot in the mainstream investigation at this moment , " said Wang Ding , a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences ' Institute of Hydrobiology , in the statement .
" As a symbol of the Yangtze ecosystem , the position of the finless porpoise is a reflection of the health of the Yangtze River , " add co-worker Wang Kexiong . " It has already lost theBaiji mahimahi , and can not support miss the Yangtze finless porpoise . "
The expedition will report a 1,055 - mile ( 1,700 klick ) expanse of the Yangtze . Preliminary resultant role will be announced in mid- to late December , and the consummate paper will be released in March 2013 .
