Baiji  (Lipotes vexillifer)

In the past, this river dolphin's range extended from the mouth of the Yangtze River, China, upstream to 50 kilometres above the Gezhouba Dam (1). More recently, it was found only in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (6), between two large tributary lakes, Dongting and Poyang (1). In 1997, just 17 individuals of this extremely rare species were seen; in 1999 this number fell to just four (6). During an expedition in November and December 2006 an intensive search was undertaken in the Yangtze River, but scientist failed to find a single baiji. It is now thought that the baiji may be extinct (4).

The baiji is an exclusive freshwater species (2). Within the Yangtze River, they are attracted to areas where tributaries meet the river, particularly where there are sand bars with large eddies (3) (6).