White Yangtze dolphin may be extinct By CHARLES HUTZLER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 39 minutes ago
BEIJING - An expedition searching for a rare Yangtze River dolphin ended Wednesday without a single sighting and with the team's leader saying one of
the world's oldest species was effectively extinct.
The white dolphin known as baiji, shy and nearly blind, dates back some 20 million years. Its disappearance is believed to be the first time in a
half-century, since hunting killed off the Caribbean monk seal, that a large aquatic mammal has been driven to extinction.
A few baiji may still exist in their native Yangtze habitat in eastern China but not in sufficient numbers to breed and ward off extinction, said
August Pfluger, the Swiss co-leader of the joint Chinese-foreign expedition.
Well, it looks as if another species is well on its way to becoming extinct..
Some will argue that this is just a natural process that has to occur, it still doesn't take the sting nor the concern away.
[edit on 13-12-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]
[edit on 13-12-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]
