“It’s been around for tens of millions of years and it’s in its own family of mammals. There are other river dolphins in the world, but this one was so different, so unrelated to anything else,” Turvey said. “Its demise was more than just another tragedy of a species — it was a huge loss of the river’s diversity in terms of how unique it was, and it left huge holes in the ecosystem.” Experts have expressed serious concern that other rare Yangtze native animal and plant species are likely to suffer a similar fate to the baiji river dolphin as worsening climate change and extreme weather affect Asia’s longest river. China is battling its worst heat wave on record and the Yangtze, the world’s third largest river, is drying up. With below-average rainfall since July, its water levels have dropped to record lows of 50% of their normal levels for this time of year, exposing fractured riverbeds and even exposing submerged islands. The drought has already had a devastating impact on China’s most important river, which stretches some 6,300 kilometers (3,900 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea near Shanghai and provides water, food, transport and hydropower to more than 400 million people. The human impact was enormous. Factories have been shut down to conserve electricity and water supplies for tens of thousands of people have been affected. Less so, experts say, is the environmental impact that climate change and related extreme weather events have had on the hundreds of protected and threatened species of wildlife and plants that live in and around the river. “The Yangtze is one of the most ecologically critical rivers in the world for biodiversity and freshwater ecosystems — and we are still discovering new species every year,” said conservation ecologist Hua Fangyuan, an assistant professor from Peking University. “Many of the few (known) and unknown fish and other aquatic species are probably silently facing extinction and we just don’t know enough.”

Hundreds of endangered species

Over the years, conservationists and scientists have identified and documented hundreds of species of wild animals and plants native to the Yangtze. Among them are the Yangtze finless porpoise, which, like the baiji, faces extinction due to human activity and habitat loss, and endangered reptiles such as the Chinese alligator and the Yangtze giant softshell turtle — believed to it is the largest living species of freshwater turtle in the world. Experts also noted a drastic decline in many native freshwater fish species, such as the now-extinct Chinese paddlefish and sturgeon. The Chinese giant salamander, one of the largest amphibians in the world, is highly endangered. Wild populations have collapsed, zoologist Turvey said, and the species is “now on the brink of extinction”. “Although they are a protected species, Chinese giant salamanders are most threatened by climate change — global warming and drought certainly won’t help when they are already extremely vulnerable,” Turvey said. “They have long faced threats such as poaching, habitat loss and pollution, but when you add climate change to the mix, their chances of survival are drastically reduced,” he added.
“They can only live in freshwater environments, and lower water levels would inevitably put more pressure on their numbers across China.”

A problem for the world

Conservation groups such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) say the condition of the Yangtze is a major concern not only for the Chinese people and government, but also for the wider international community. “Rivers around the world, from Europe to the United States, have declined to historically low flow levels that are negatively impacting ecosystems,” said lead scientist Jeff Opperman. “Reduced river flow and warmer waters in the Yangtze threaten freshwater species and increase pressure on already critically endangered animals such as the remaining Yangtze finless porpoises and Chinese alligators left in the wild. Lower river levels they also affect the health of (neighboring) lakes and wetlands, which are vital for millions of migratory birds across East Asia. Hua, the conservationist, said more public awareness and greater efforts are needed to help China’s shrinking great river. “Humans depend on nature to survive, period. That’s a lesson for any civilization,” he said. “The Yangtze is the largest river in China and (all of) Asia and has long been a cradle of civilization. Despite serious conservation threats and losses over the years, there is still much biodiversity to conserve in and along the Yangtze. ” Few would deny the importance and symbolism of the Yangtze. But experts say that unless action is taken — and soon — more species will follow the fate of the baiji and the Chinese paddle. Turvey, the British zoologist, warned of the kind of complacency that allowed the baiji to become extinct. “The Yangtze has been a jewel in the crown of Asia. There is still so much biodiversity to fight for and we must not give up hope for saving species such as giant salamanders, river reptiles and others,” said Turvey.
“If there’s one thing we can learn from the death of the Yangtze River dolphin, it’s that extinction is forever, and we can’t afford to take it lightly.”