One day, he took the girl on a boat, intending to sell her on the market. He was evil, and a greedy man out for his own self-interest. Per Chinese folklore, a beautiful young girl is said to have lived with her stepfather on the banks of the river Yangtze.The name Baiji means 'white fin' in Chinese, it means 'white-finned dolphin'.Currently, this species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing. The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the total number of the baiji population size. The World Wildlife Fund is calling for the preservation of any possible baiji habitat, in case the species is located and can be revived. Although the animal was tentatively identified as a baiji, the presence of only one or a few animals, particularly of advanced age, is not enough to save a functionally extinct species from true extinction. In August 2007, a Chinese man reportedly videotaped a large white animal swimming in the Yangtze. Further studies have noted that a lack of information on the baiji's historical distribution or ecology, the environmental impact of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the living space of the baiji, and the failure to act for the protection of the baiji are also threats to the species. The main threats to the species included a period of hunting by humans during the Great Leap Forward, entanglement in fishing gear, the illegal practice of electric fishing, collisions with boats and ships, habitat loss, and pollution. It has been credibly claimed, after surveys in the Yangtze River during the 1980s, that baiji could be the first dolphin species in history that humans have driven to extinction. The baiji population declined drastically in decades as China industrialized and made heavy use of the river for fishing, transportation, and hydroelectricity. The last known living baiji was Qiqi (淇淇), who died in 2002. The search took place almost a decade after the last exploration in 1997, which turned up only 13 of the cetaceans. Swiss economist and CEO of the Foundation August Pfluger funded an expedition in which an international team, taken in part from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Fisheries Research Agency in Japan, searched for six weeks for signs of the dolphin. The baiji's extinction would be the first recorded extinction of a well-studied cetacean species (it is unclear if some previously extinct varieties were species or subspecies) to be directly attributable to human influence. It also signified the disappearance of an entire mammal family of river dolphins (Lipotidae). The baiji represents the first documented global extinction of an aquatic "megafaunal" vertebrate in over 50 years since the demise of the Japanese sea lion ( Zalophus japonicus ) and the Caribbean monk seal ( Neomonachus tropicalis ) in the 1950s. Organizers declared the baiji functionally extinct. Efforts were made to conserve the species, but a late 2006 expedition failed to find any baiji in the river. A Conservation Action Plan for Cetaceans of the Yangtze River was approved by the Chinese Government in 2001. It is not to be confused with the Chinese white dolphin ( Sousa chinensis ) or the finless porpoise ( Neophocaena phocaenoides ). Nicknamed the "Goddess of the Yangtze" (simplified Chinese: 长江女神 traditional Chinese: 長江女神 pinyin: Cháng Jiāng nǚshén ), it was regarded as the goddess of protection by local fishermen and boatmen. In China, the species is also called the Chinese river dolphin, Yangtze river dolphin, Yangtze dolphin and whitefin dolphin. This dolphin is listed as “critically endangered: possibly extinct” by the IUCN, has not been seen in almost 20 years, and several surveys of the Yangtze have failed to find it. It is thought to be the first dolphin species driven to extinction due to the impact of humans. info), Lipotes vexillifer, Lipotes meaning "left behind", vexillifer "flag bearer") is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin.The baiji (Chinese: 白鱀豚 pinyin: báijìtún (help
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