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In September
2020, a group of highly endangered Yangtze finless porpoises were seen
in the Yangtze River in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province. The rare
scene was recorded in a short video by a local resident and soon
attracted attention online. The appearance
of Yangtze finless porpoises is a result of declining interference from
human activities or an increase in food availability, experts say. According to
statistics, in the 1990s, there were about 2,700 finless porpoises in
the Yangtze River, with the number dropping to 1,012 in 2017 according
to a scientific research on the species. However, no finless porpoise
was spotted in the Wuhan section of the river in the 2017 research, or
two research activities before that. Researchers
discovered that interruption from human activities, such as extensive
fishing practices, have affected the activeness of the species in the
Wuhan area. In 2020, the
Wuhan government issued 10 measures to protect Yangtze finless
porpoises. The city strengthened the fishing ban to increase food supply
for the species, built a habitat along the Yangtze River for the
species to breed, and improved the quality of water in designated areas. Data showed
that there are more than 4,300 kinds of aquatic life living in the
Yangtze River basin, including more than 400 types of fish. Not only
Yangtze finless porpoises, but the population of other endangered
animals as well, such as Yangtze alligators and milu deer, also known as
Pere David's deer, have expanded in recent years as well. In September
2020, two caves for Yangtze alligators were discovered at a reservoir in
Xuancheng, east China’s Anhui province, indicating that the captive
Yangtze alligators released into the wild had adapted to their new
habitat. Wild Yangtze
alligators mainly live in the southeastern part of east China’s Anhui
province and Zhejiang province. A research carried out by a conservation
center showed that there were 113 Yangtze alligators in the wild in the
area of the center in 2018, compared with 63 in 2015. The Xuancheng
Yangtze alligator national conservation area, a place built to rescue
the first-class protected animal in China, has been actively conducting
research on the breeding of wild alligators and releasing the animal
into the wild. Between 2003
and 2020, the center released 508 captive alligators into the wild,
while continuously monitoring and researching the animals to see how
they have adapted to the natural habitat. As they have found, most of
the alligators have adapted well to the wild environment. The East
Dongting Lake Milu Deer and Bird Rescue Center has been protecting milu
deer since its founding in Yueyang, central China's Hunan province.
Currently, there are more than 210 milu deer under the care of the
center, according to Song Yucheng, a deputy chief engineer at the
center, noting that five years ago, the number was only 113. Every year,
generally over eight times, the center conducts joint patrol with the
local forestry department to record the population, habits, habitat, and
migratory route of the animal to better protect the species. Behind these
positive changes are the efforts of relevant departments to protect
aquatic life in the Yangtze River basin. On Jan. 1, 2020, the country
began a 10-year fishing ban on key areas of the Yangtze River to protect
the river’s biodiversity. Starting from that day, the ban was observed
in 332 conservation areas in the Yangtze River basin. Over the past
five years, the country has earmarked more than 1.3 billion yuan to
cover financing needed to release fingerlings into the river and
released a total of 26.6 billion fingerlings into the river.
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