Ever heard of a baiji? It used to be a freshwater dolphin living uniquely in China’s famous Yangtze River. Local fishermen and boatmen considered it a divine creature and a protector.
Yet, after decades of unrestrained industrialization, including the gigantic Three Gorges Dam project, the baiji was seen less and less. In 2006, an international expedition failed to find even one. The baiji was declared functionally extinct, meaning that even if there are some, there won’t be enough to revive the species.
This was the first instance of a large animal going extinct since the 1950s. It was also the first dolphin species known to be obliterated by human activity.
And it may not be the last.
On the other side of the planet, in Mexico’s Gulf of California, lives the vaquita—the world’s smallest porpoise.
With its stocky body, short maw, and pronounced circles around the eyes, the porpoise looks like a character straight out of a Pixar movie.
