Tribute to the Goddess of the Yangtze

[draw4kicks]

This is a very sad story about these beautiful creatures, but not a hopeless one. A recent sighting of about 20 of these animals in the wild gives some hope for a wild population. Even so special facilities still hold healthy frozen DNA from some of the last captive yangzte river dolphin. This makes it likely that in a relatively small number of years we could indeed clone (yes literally clone) new specimans and implant fertalised egg cells into a similar species. So stay optimistic, i am.

[MasterSvr1]

baiji will never be forgotten

[stavparavxavier]

In loving memory of the yangze river dolphin....I do hope that other Asian creatures are not wiped out such as the Chinese alligator and also the Japanese should stop whaling and cetacean slaughter it's brutal..the Asian nation should stop killing animals

[Believe13at]

My favorite river dolphin of all.People need to open their eyes and see how beautiful this creature was. How many more must die off before humans finally get the message? A beautiful animal gone forever. Lets not have any more regrets.

[bombarderoazul]

The problem with China is that it's overpulated, there are also only about 200 chinese alligators left in the wild. Tigers, bears and just about every animal in chinal is in serious danger of becoming extinct because with so many people more land has to be used for agriculture, cities, etc. I don't know why asian race and hindu race reproduce so much. They should imitate caucasian race that doesn't reproduce so much.

[1nerdykid]

@bombarderoazul what the hell, u need a brain

[dolphinsrockful]

sadly the reason that they r extinct is because the Chinese built the yangtez river dam sooooooo sad ;( I was crying when I founded out

[deasinroo]

The second photo is a beaked whale, perhaps longman's. just thought you should know :-)

[BlondeCurlsBlueEyes]

Poor things :( The worst of it is, people won't learn. they never do. In the next century, most wildlife besides humans will die out becuse of us. And then humans will die a slow, agonising death of starvation when all the poor animals are gone, and their spirits will be laughing as nature exacts sweet vengeance on us all. I hope all the poachers and over-fishers really suffer

[equarg]

I know there are plenty of people who post saying F this worry more about the starving children..... who gives a $(#*). Truly if there is not enough room in the world for any of the animals, from the smallest insect, to the mighty blue whale...is there enough room for us? May you RIP Yangtze River Dolphin...

[Margui622]

So, there is no way of cloning these animals? I hope they can.

I cried when I learned that this beautiful dolphin was declared officially extinct.

[nawabmevans]

its too late to save any species.

mankind is too stubborn and destructive.

[darklordtang]

i am crying. i want to kill communism, i want to kill the last china present. it is him who insist the project of three canyon dyke which directly caused the extinction of the amazing animal. they used to live in my hometown.

[sararagga]

thanks for sharing this!

[Tarbtano]

The baiji has joined the ranks of the fallen. The thylacine, Steller's Sea Cow, Quagga, and many others. May its relatives not suffer the same fate

[mrjoshua1983]

very moving tribute to a gentle and fascinating creature.

[kevinalan9]

we'll miss u Yangtze River Dolphin

[Rayygurrllyy]

I am doing an animal project of the Yangtze River Dolphin, And while i was looknig at a website, there was a video about some coastgaurd dumping almost 2 thousand fish into the ocen, already dead, they said that over 80% of their fish is dumped back into the ocean dead....

[m23c14r03]

we can still do something about this.. if only people would give a damn instead of thinking trvial stuff... :((

[Toriam19]

Yes, the extinction of the bottlenose dolphin was a terrible thing. Knowing that it was about to happen. I went to China for the purpose of seeing them before they were wiped out. The sad fact is it was a planned extition.China dammed the Yangsee river. By doing so, the Bottlenose Dolphins were killed forever.

[Dealz1988]

..................UMMMMMMMMM? when did the Bottlenose Dophin go Extinct last time I checked they were every where Atleast here in Florida

[zingtea]

I think Toriam meant to say the Yangtze River Dolphin.

[Cetaceans4life]

@Dealz1988 are u a kindergardener?

[darklordtang]

so this is truth, they know it will happen but they still do it. i am chinese, i know many people against that dam. the son of bitch communism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[shahou88]

really sad :(

[wcash13]

these are extinct now...sad shit

[SiOTheCaveman]

nice, very touching.

[marilynnblock]

Save the pink Amazon River dolphin from extinction. Protest Norway's plan to capture and display pink dolphins of the Amazon at website of " Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society", then click "International."

[lildjusc94]

we need to help our creaturez instead ov hunting them thatz a reason y the ivory-billed woodpecker haz rare sightings becuz itz almost or iz extinct

[vitami1n]

i guess, that if information was free everywhere, but trade restricted, than this would not happen.

[fdoeppen]

So, what's the difference between this Baiji and the brazilian "Boto Rosa"?

They look very similar.

[Treemeadow]

I hate it how we always wait until an animal is listed as endagngered ebfore we start to do anything about conservation!

Consveration is about keeping the numbers up! They earlier it begins, the higher the numbers. Goal achieved.

Sadly, thats not how foolish humanity operates.

[ceramiclion]

the point most people seem to forget is that ALL life on this planet has to respected whether its endangered or not.

This dolphin is a prime example of that. When finally people started taking notice it was too late and the baiji is gone forever. Its just too bad this poor species had the bad luck of being from china, with their messed up corrupt socialist B.S still goin strong even after the USSR collapsed.

[zingtea]

It wasn't socialism that did it, it was industry for the most part.

[Jimboman300]

@zingtea Yet typically countries with larger governments have worse environmental records. Capitalism forces businesses to run as efficiently as possible which eliminates wastes. Capitalism also can turn endangered species into commodities that give businesses a fiancial motive to protect them. Free Markets are the best way to preserve creatures like the Baiji Dolphin

[PinoyJonPaul]

Only if they could have been cloned if cloning existed they must make a cloning machine soon or else my little 13 year old heart will die

[katamarimlps]

Functionally extinct means there aren't enough to breed, what's left may be infertile or incompatible. This truly breaks my heart.

[JRV95]

I think what i will say sums up about everything you people are saying:

ASIA IS SOO FUCKED UP RIGHT NOW! I think that applies to all of the bases.

[pepsipi]

wats functionally extinct mean

[trevianflowers]

there aren't enough left to keep the species going.

[pepsipi]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo y them y not the pink ones y i hate this world

[tubeneophyte]

From this film "we will not make the same mistake again... if we stay awake long enough"

I can not imagine what the author could possibly mean by that.

It is our mere existence and the proliferation of "western" culture that establishes that we will be the cause of extinction for many other species.

[zingtea]

By "awake" I meant "aware" of the problems we're causing.

[tubeneophyte]

Fossil fuels and other embodied energy were used to 1) transport the photographer(s) to various sites, 2) manufacture vessels and equipment, 3) produce and transport food consumed by all those involved (I and any and everyone taking time to view this YouTube clip are implicatable in this as well) 4) etc. etc. I mention the foregoing only has a brief and crude illustration of just how vast the issue is.

[tubeneophyte]

(as in a township) Never leaving that land. Growing and harvesting all food from that land and acquiring anything else needed thru barter with neighbors (with goods transported by foot traffic only).

While this work contributes to our awareness of the extinction (or impending extinction) of these mammals, utilization of the resources required to produce the short photo montage ultimately contributed to these animals extinction.

[tubeneophyte]

Awareness is perhaps the first step to change. But it will take much more than awareness of this human sourced extinction period to realize change.

Much short of a truly sustainable human existence will surly result in the loss of much more life.

Truly sustainable would look something like being born and dying upon a land

[xoeagles119ox]

They are not extinct and i keep hearing that they are. They are FUNCTIONALLY extinct. I am doing a paper on them for school. Every web site says that they are functionally extinct and plus it take decades for scientists to declare them officially extinct.

[videowilliams]

I recently read that not one river in all of China remains unpolluted. In their headlong rush to industrialize, they are throwing away their natural heritage. It's so short-sighted, and so tragic. As Chief Seattle said a century ago:

"Only after the last tree has been cut down,

only after the last river has been poisoned,

only after the last fish has been caught,

only then will you find that money cannot be eaten."

[italianbadboy12]

thats to bad about those animals i really liked the look of them very sad

[mickeray]

what do they taste like? guess ill never know now , think ill have some tiger penis soup , humback whale steak and orangutan testis instead before there all gone .

[sarge5000]

haha yea, it's sad to say but chinese traditional medicine has heavily contributed to demise of species worldwide. being an indian and seeing our tigers slaughtered for their penises just makes me mad.

[joejames007]

In august of this year 2 baihi where seen so they aren't "extinct".

Still its a warning sign for us humans to take care of our envoirment, not just for this dolphin but all animals.

[ilovezekedog]

Poor dolphins! I cant belive us humans! I really hate cloning and all, but this would be the only reason in which I would support cloning. Its really horrible and all. But,

maybe they could clone some remaining tissue of the dolphin and save the speices! My hopes and dreams are always really high. Please forgive me!

[zingtea]

I doubt that cloning would help much. Genetic diversity is an important factor in the survival of a species.

[ilovezekedog]

Yah, Sorry. I have the High hopes disease!

[jcwilliamsmustdie5]

It is not extinct they found 2 of them in the river .

[qian4ever]

the baijis have been announced by the IUCN,as extinct. even if there is like one of them in the river, it is still considered extinct coz it just can't reproduce by itself. they have conducted a search and the results are negative.

[snasxs]

qian, I don't agree. All "they" did is a search. And the result is a happy "0". So every politician is free now.

Why don't we spend some money on this? I mean more money is spent on eating and drinking by provincial officials.

[therealtomackle]

Wow Zingtea, your a real wanker. We're talking about extinction here and all you can do is rip on someone for trying to make a point

Grow up

[hiphopguy95]

there stillout there

[jjcbss]

Are there any baiji in captivity?

[finch6789]

there was one but it died of old age. I think it's horrible that they knew this species was in dire straits since the 70's and they didn't lift a finger. Billions of dollars goes to their beloved Pandas but they let something like this that has been around for 20 millions years just die off. makes me ill.

[BeachofDreams]

if conservation is to be successful in the long run, more has to justify saving species than simply appealing to their inherent worth.

[snasxs]

I plead to the world whale and/or wild life organizations to supply some funding to save the last Baiji.

Despite the cute looks, the rapid declining of baiji is not noticed by the world. There is little or no money spent to save them.

I hear HSBC China donated some money. Gee, I don't think the bank alone can save the creature.

[GenLodA]

seems like last august a specimen of this dolphin has been seen... whatever, three gorges dam condamned last animals (if they really still survive) to extinction...

[snasxs]

Now another critical endangered species is the freshwater elephant fish -- Chinese paddlefish. Please help to save this mighty looking fish from extinction. The last spotting of the fish was in 2003.

[elleke024]

It's been spooted! It's been spooted! I love it. They're going to capture it and are goning to try to breed with it!! Maybe there's hope...

[zingtea]

Unfortunately, I think the species was lost long ago when it lost genetic diversity.

[NiEcA11]

there was a recent sighting of a baiji in the yangtzee river....a china man caught it on tape..!!

[baolinh111]

wasn't surprise it would be extinct since its habitat from china, but man WTF, another extinct species , F-U-C-K! felt like being stabbed in the heart. This dolphin reminds me of ducks, their head look the same, cutem but sad :(

[xxxZENicxxx]

go vegan.

[zingtea]

Right on!

[EccentricDodo]

I know what you mean, mongobizarro. What most people don't realize is that every extinction leads us closer to our own. However, we can't blame the Chinese for doing what they thought was best for their people (Gorges Dam, etc.) We can only mourn the loss of such a beautiful creature, and pray no more creatures like the Yangtze River Dolphin have to go extinct for us to get the message.

[mongobizzaro]

We need to change our actions. After dolphins have been whipped off the face of the earth, humans will be next.

[EccentricDodo]

Oh yes, I must add something. Humans are useful to the world. We're the only species who can put their beliefs into words, and use them to change the world. Yes, this is a case where our actions have destroyed a creature many of us hold dear, but we've saved so much, including each other, the Bald Eagle, etc. Don't count us out as worthless creatures just yet.

[EccentricDodo]

I'm back. I heard the news. I know I wasn't part of the conservation effort, but I still adored the baiji for the beauty it was. However, what I find heartbreaking is that almost no one here realizes it's the Chinese people themselves who'll mourn the baiji the most- it was a symbol of protection for them, and according to the legend, royalty, sent to the river to protect the Chinese people from the Yangtze's wrath. This is a tragedy for all, even if Tylerthedruid doesn't realize it yet.

[josephdrt]

the world seems a little sadder today :(

[snasxs]

The unique Baiji dolphin is the only species in its genes. Its lost is tragic. It was really really close to being saved. The best time was 20 years ago. China just opened up at that time. The nation was very poor. International organizations did not help either. They probably did not know.

If this window of opportunity happens 20 years later, these would have survived. Sigh 20 years is like a blink in natural history.

[HarpMagic]

we must look towards ourselves as individuals and what we have done to contribute to the extinction of this species.....hopefully we can all learn something from this.... what we do to the web we do to ourselves. Hopefully the spirit, consciousness or what ever you like to call it, of these beings has taken on a new and more fortunate rebirth, may we as humans never for get.....

[MWdream]

I knew this had to be China... Between their killing and pollution we will all suffer.

[Tylerthedruid]

what angers me is that half the people defending this dolphin didn't give a %#$# about it when it was going extinct - instead of being there when the dolphin needed to be saved, they jump in afterwards and pretend like they were a huge part of the conservation effort

[zingtea]

I thought you hated dolphins.

[Tylerthedruid]

I watched this video with great joy knowing there is one less species of this sick and wretched animal to infest the earth. When I was bit by a dolphin, as a small child, I came to realize that these useless animals that people hold so dear - are pointless and unnecessary.

Today was a great victory for those of us who hate dolphins.

[elleke024]

Are you sick? You think they are useless? And what about humans? Do they have any use in the world, except destroying it? Efery breature who doesn't mean harm has the right to live, to survive. But instead dum human fuck the whole world up, you sick bastard!

[puppyandoscar]

Maybe the dolphin that bit you had it right. Maybe YOU are useless, pointless and unnecessary. What a pussy. Wahhh! Mommy the dolphin bit me! Ahhh! Obviously such a brat as yourself deserved it. Were you molested too? That must be where the displaced rage is coming from. Who else but an incest victim like you could blame it all on a beautiful, gentle river dolphin. Does that long pointy nose on the dolphin give you nightmares? Does it remind you of Uncle Jimmy? Waaaaaah. Twat.

[djbyrne]

I just heard about it on the news. 25 million years and then we fuck it up for them.

[kksaito]

we wont make the same mistake again? are you kidding?

[Legavaan]

why does asia half to over do such things???

ex: the asian turtle crisis!!!!

im not saying all asians are like that, but come on!!!

[Legavaan]

Too much human greed for power!!!!, and the need to show off !!!!!

u dont have to destroy a species to solve a problem!!!

im not saying china didnt try at all, but they couldnt have tried hard enuf!!!

no a beautiful and rare species now may be gone 4ever!!

[Dieguillo04]

El hombre, el ser mas absurdo que puebla la Tierra.

Somos inteligentes segun la ciencia, pero no llegamos a comprender el significado de la vida.

El dia del fin aun no se conoce, pero el principio de ese camino ya ha comenzado.

[montsrubi]

no need for words, greed and ignorance says it all.

[BaronVerulam1618]

Don't forget 38 million sharks a year are being 'finned' for the asia shark fin soup market. Their numbers have declined 80% over the last few years. The above will be a very familier story soon unless somehing's done soon

[Chercrowle]

how sad to late nothing was done about it.

[elleke024]

I loved the baiji, it was my favorite species, I just heard it on the news, but knew it a long time ago. It's all because of humans. We'll detroy the world, and eventually ourselfs. Why can't we understand when enough is enough? I want to be a marine-biologist, and I always dreamed that I would help the baiji survive, but it was too late...

[luvpump1]

Oficially Extinct !! Thats "Progress" ...

[EccentricDodo]

Beautiful video! I'd like to join the debate. Both sides have great points; zingtea's side: environmentalism isn't just about saving cute animals; there's a price for everything we do. chankljp's side: the Chinese government tried to save the baiji; the actions taken (Three Gorges Dam) were designed to make China a fully developed nation. Calling the Chinese people an abomination is uncalled for, especially since it's the Chinese people themselves who are mourning the baiji's doom the most.

[kingofallwhites]

No this act is 100% abominable.

[zingtea]

I think that a debate with no action is pointless.

[chankljp]

zingtea, lets stop this debate and close the file. I just want to end the arguement right here and right now. It is just meaningless, the gap between us two is just too wide and our Ideology is just fundamentally different.

Peace

[zingtea]

You mean remove the video? People must remember the Baiji so they don't keep making the same mistakes. That is the purpose of the video.

[chankljp]

zingtea, please respect yourself and don't take what I wrote out of context. I NEVER ask you to remove this video. In fact I think you did a great job and the video is kind of interesting.

All I am trying to say is to stop the debate between us two.

[zingtea]

Ok, sorry I misunderstood.

[sifigrasshopper]

maybe they can clone them

[zingtea]

Genetic diversity is essential for a species' survival.

[snasxs]

I think David's deer is brought back from extinction by a couple animals. They don't have diversity anymore. But a not-diverse group is better than none.

[XaaliOReilly]

of course! What else would humanity be?

[XaaliOReilly]

Great video. But the same mistake will be made again, because the human mentality will not change overnight and it will continue in the same general direction till we destroy ourselfs, after destroying everything else. Unless enough people decide it's wrong.

[ShaniaRichards]

great viseo,, love dolphins and orcas , hope you check my others out

[AngelaMort]

Neta neta NETA que me da verguenza la raza humana, hace demasiadas pendejadas y no solo el delfin del Rio Yangtze ha sido declarado en extinsion, sino que tambien hay muchos animales como el Dodo, El cuaga, el Guacamayo azul de la Argentina, el alca, la paloma mensajera entre muchos mas ya no habitan en este mundo por la cauda y mano del hombre que solo por ambicion destruyen algo muy valioso, estoy muy enojada y siento mucha impotencia, la neta que poca madre tienen.

[chankljp]

Sorry to disappoint you but on the list of 'The Top 10 Worst Polluted Places' only number 6 is China. And thought you may want to know but China has spend a lot of money on developing renewable energy sources and we are starting to have more control over the market to prevent permanent damage to the Earth's ecology.

[chankljp]

Look, we all want to save the world but we have to be realistic! We shouldn't let idealism cloud scientific judgment and common sense.

Any kind of so-call 'Green' economics will just hinder the just and proper flow of capital and cause irreparable harm to legitimate business interests and industrial growth needed for the human race.

[AngelSSQ]

This is one of the many reasons why people need to go to school and have children at a later age. All baiji were kill because of overpopulation in China. I cannot believe this happen, this is 2007 how can this still be happening to this day? haven't we learn the lesson, when tornados,tsunamis and all the natural disasters start hitting places were they usually do not happen, them people will learn.

[CachangaCaracal]

Awesome job, Zingtea!!!

[chankljp]

As a Chinese myself and lets put it this way;

It is very sad that the Yangtze river dolphin are going to die out. BUT... I belive that the Three Gorges Dam is a necessary evil. It may be evil, but still necessary. As China is growning stronger, we need more energy to develop. We have no other selections.

[zingtea]

Why necessarily does China need to grow so fast? For it's people to survive? Please. Nothing like that is worth wiping out a whole species.

[chankljp]

Well my dear friend,I don't want to de rude here but lets put it this way:

You are from Austria, a fully developed nation. You DON'T have the right to tell ANY other countries in the world that they should stop developing to 'protect the environment'. It is easy for YOU to say things like 'Nothing like that is worth wiping out a whole species.' because you are properly living in a nice big house with good food when 10% of my fellow countryman are living under the poverty line.

[zingtea]

Are you living under the poverty line? How do you think it benefits your fellow countrymen for rivers to be so toxic from industrial pollution that they get sores from just stepping in them? What makes you think that the 10% of Chinese under the poverty line have better lives just because huge companies are making money? Were you ever one of the scores of people who were evicted and had their homes bulldozed for urbanisation?

[zingtea]

Humans still depend on the Earth; protecting the environment isn't just about saving cute animals, despite what many anti-environmentalists say.

Now I'm actually American, but I live in Austria and I can say that Austria is more socialist than China. Here there's something called social welfare and our government hardly spends any money on the military.

[chankljp]

There are some misunderstanding here, I am not saying that we should not care about the environment. In fact I belive the environment is VERY important, after all Earth is our mother and our womb and we can't just take all we want. Also, just thought you want to know, there are laws in China to control the amont of toxic and pollution.

[chankljp]

But all I am saying is very important to protect the environment but so is industrial and economic development. The process of development are painful but necessary. China is a big nation and we have 1,321,851,888 people. That is 1,321,851,888 mouths to feed and 1,321,851,888 people needing a job. If we stop development then WHO is going to feed us and WHO is going to give us jobs? I don't think the United States will do so.....

[chankljp]

And as for how dam will benefits my fellow countrymen here are some data you may want to take a look at:

The dam will replace high-sulfur coal which is causing much more damage to the environment.

[chankljp]

The dam is also for Flood Control. The floods of Yangtzee are killing 2000 people each year and 14 million people lost their homes because of it. And the dam will stop it onces and for all.

LOTS of people will have new jobs and opportunities ones the dam is finish. Just think about this: the commerce of China will increase by by 400% because of the dam. How many new jobs will there be?

[chankljp]

And just for the record:

I am not living under the poverty line and my home is not bulldozed. I am a high school student that studies in an international school in the city of Beijing. I grow up in a middle class family and my house is on top of what was ones a farm.

And one last thing, my family and I are NOT part of the communist party. We are a family of business man that are enjoying the benefits of free market capitalism.

[iewnauq7]

yeah, but still, do you want another famine that killed over 60 million people?

[BigP3]

Damn. That's hard to watch. Mad props to those that tried to save 'em. Fight the good fight people.

[SteveZussou]

stupid chinese government....

[H3artBr0ken]

it's not nessacarily the government's fault if it's the people polluting it, anyways, a few years ago the Zoologiacl Society of London launched the program EDGE and Baiji was 1st on the list but never recieved any attention, nor did the other 100 animals

Anyways, say that the chinese government is stupid would be saying the stupid European that wiped out the ancient cultures, destroyed records, and bring disease to the Americas

[zingtea]

The government could have helped at least a little bit by not building that Three Gorges Dam.

[iewnauq7]

But then, we would have to put more CO2 into the environment with more coal plants.

[SpartansDontDie]

So sad...

[quxzyt]

This is so damn sad. Poor dolphins.

[heatherleaves]

what!?!? this beautiful creature is now EXTINCT!?!? WTF!!? this is my first time seeing this video - and first introduction to this animal - and am now in a state of mourning to bear witness to this. i'm filled with so much rage and pain. when will such meaningless and evil destruction end!?!? it tears the soul to shreds.

[zingtea]

It's terrible beyond words. I learned about the Yangtze river dolphin in the first half of 2006, when there were like 10-20 left. (I think)

[marinemammal]

So sad they're extinct

[peepchick101]

Sad and meaningful video... poor creatures.

[zingtea]

As Paul Watson put it, we're on a big train speeding out of control into out own extinction, with ever so many other species passing by the windows in a blur. We're going to need Spiderman pretty quickly if we don't do something ourselves. (that only makes sense if you saw the movie Spederman 2.. =P)

[zingtea]

Unfortunately, 100-500 species (I think; the sources I read vary) on the Earth go extinct every day. This, however, is the first large aquatic mammal to be wiped out since the Caribbean Monk seal in the 50s.

[kaijucole]

This is only one of the few extinctions of species that will go extinct in our lifetimes!

I'd rather go extict myself than hearing the extinction of another glorious species... T_T

[cannibol]

this is what the hidden cost of the made in china walmart products.

not really very cheap, i would say.

[zingtea]

Fully agreed.

[Smudgy23]

Zing I'm so sorry; I don't know what to say, I just don't know, you said it for me girl. "The Yangtze river dolphin is but one example of the indiscriminate destruction that our kind infilicts every waking minute on the very world it depends on. I believe that much, much more could have been done to protect this unique and wonderful species" Very true my friend very true.