1. strangerfruit
  2. So long and thanks for the fish

So long and thanks for the fish

By jlynch on December 13, 2006.

i-84eb88454be846c0ddfd6b7b3ddd847f-yangtze-river-dolphin-1847[4].jpg

AP is reporting that the Yangtze River dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer) is "effectively extinct" following a 20 million year existence on this planet. A six week search yielded no sightings, down from thirteen sightings in 1997. It is believed that overfishing and sub-aquatic sonar pollution led to the extinction and that the species is the first cetacean to be rendered extinct by human action.

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mammals

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I don't suppose there's a breeding population in captivity?

By Caledonian (not verified) on 14 Dec 2006 #permalink

Caledonian, I read elsewhere that the last captive specimen died a year or two ago. So no hope there. Someone has suggested we keep the DNA and resurect them later.