The Baiji, the Yangtze's Lost Dolphin
A pale, nearly blind dolphin lived in the Yangtze for millions of years. A survey in 2006 couldn't find a single one.
What was reported
The baiji was a freshwater dolphin found only in China's Yangtze River, with a long narrow beak and tiny eyes, revered in local legend as the 'goddess of the Yangtze'. Fishing nets, boat traffic, pollution and dams cut its numbers sharply in the 20th century.
In 2006 an international expedition surveyed about 3,400 km of the river with boats and underwater microphones and found none. It was declared 'functionally extinct', the first dolphin species thought to have been wiped out by human activity.
Explanations offered
There have been occasional reported sightings since, including a video in 2007 that some believe shows a baiji, but none has been confirmed. Most scientists think any survivors would be too few to recover. Its decline is used as a warning for other river dolphins.
- When
- Declared functionally extinct in 2006
- Where
- Yangtze River, near Wuhan, Hubei, China
- Witnesses
- Fishermen and river surveys
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.