Goodbye Yangtze River Dolphin (Baiji)

THREE GORGES DAM AND POLLUTION FINALLY WIPE OUT ANCIENT SPECIES

CHINA, SUMMER 2007 - Proving that evolution is indeed the law of the planet, the "Baiji" or Yangtze River Dolphin has failed to adapt to the Chinese economic miracle. Long known to be severely threated by the toxic waters of the Yangtze River, the former mammal has been entangled in fishing gear, electrocuted by fishing devices, chopped up by boat propellers, blasted during channel maintenance and poisoned. The Chinese government had bestowed the "goddess of the Yangtze" its highest level of protection, which seems to been inadequate due to the continued and permanent absence of the protected species from the planet.

After 20 million years of existence (or the maximum of 6,000 yeears for you young earthers), the baiji has shown itself to be ill suited to the demanding conditions of the 21st century. Nothing was done to prevent it's extinction, as such activities would have interfered with making plastic crap for American children. Now, there is no baiji and there never will be again.

However, Paris Hilton continues to thrive.

Canary in a Coal Mine

The baiji is the first large mammal to undergo extinctification in modern times and it is unlikely to be the last. It is also distinct in the sense that it was not hunted out of existence. Rather, humans caused the place where it has lived for two million years to become uninhabitable for the baiji - and who knows what mammal species may be next.

How long can a species that fouls it own habitat hope to survive?

Other Threatened Yangtze River Species

The building of the Three Gorges Dam has created one of the world's most devastating environmental disasters, threatening, among others:

Siberian crane

Finless dolphin

River sturgeon