A few weeks ago, I reported the possible disappearance of the Yangtze River dolphin when Biological Letters published an article suggesting this may be the first human-caused extinction of a cetacean species. And would you know it, according to The New York Times, a baiji dolphin was filmed in the Yangtze River this very week. Good news for marine mammal enthusiasts everywhere. Then again, Bigfoot's sighted quite often too.
More like this
ABC (Australia) is reporting that the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) may not be definitely extinct after all (see
Some two-bit publicity hound can die, and that's all you can find on any of the television channels … a whole grand species can go extinct, and there's almost nothing.
Goes to the Yangtze river dolphin...
They say extinction is the only real certainty. Species are constantly blinking in and out of existence.
This is a good example of how the language of science ("functionally extinct") is lost in translation by the media, which in this case includes us science bloggers.
Sheril,
All unknowingly you've caught on to the truth. That's not a baiji dolphin, that's a tuna in a baiji dolphin suit.! :)