Julia+Tait+-+Chinese+River+Dolphin

=Chinese River Dolphin (Lipotes Vexillifer)=

Location and Natural Habitat
The Chinese River Dolphin is believed to have originated from the ocean, but is currently only found in freshwater. They are found in the murky waters of the Yangtze River in China, specifically in the middle and lower reaches of it. The space in which they live is believed to be limited to the 870 mile main channel between Jingzhou and Jiangyin. They're generally found in deeper areas of water and swim to shallow parts to catch small fish. They like living in structured parts of the river, such as ones with sandbars. They are naturally shy and timid creatures. The Chinese River Dolphin tends to move around a lot and doesn't like to stay in the same place for too long.

Niche

 * **Diet** - They're carnivores so their diet consists of all different types of freshwater fish, surface and bottom feeders included, measuring about 2.5 inches width ways.
 * **Size** - Males are known to grow up to 8ft long and weigh up to 500lbs. Females are slightly smaller than the males.
 * **Birth** - Females can start breeding between the ages 4-6 years, and give birth every 2 years or so. The gestation period is 10-11 months, and after that they give birth to one calf measured at approximately 3ft.
 * **Activity** - They're normally active during the daytime, feeding and such, whereas during the nighttime they like to rest in calm water.
 * **Living Habits** - Dolphins like to stay together in groups, each group consists of about 6 dolphins, but in rare occasion they have been known to be as high as 16 to a group. They use tools such as clicks and whistles to communicate with each other, navigation, and identifying objects (mainly food). It is believed that they depend on clicks and whistles because of the murky waters in which they live.

Endangerment
The Chinese River Dolphin was declared endangered on May 30, 1989. From then the population was said to decline 10% every year. The causes for decline were as follows: The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was approved on December 28, 1973 and it's core purpose is to protect environments in which endangered species live in and depend on to survive to prevent them from becoming extinct. Provided the species is categorized as endangered or threatened, it's protected from unauthorized sales, possession, etc.. If someone is caught doing any of the prior, then another person with knowledge of it is subject to rewards given they feed information leading to that said persons conviction/arrest. It determines if a species is endangered or threatened. A species is marked threatened when it's believed to be in the process of becoming endangered in the near future. On the other hand, an endangered species is one that is on the verge of becoming extinct. They determine if they are endangered or threatened if natural or man-made objects cause damage enough to endanger their existence, disease or over hunting, habitat destruction, etc.
 * 1) Fishing Equipment such as rolling hooks catch onto the dolphins drag them down and drown them, and nets capture them and drown them as well.
 * 2) Electro-Fishing electrocutes the dolphins, killing them. Roughly 40% of Chinese River Dolphin deaths are caused from this.
 * 3) Competition with Humans - The humans and dolphins compete for the fish in the rivers and most of the time the humans win, leaving the dolphins with no food to eat. Therefore decreasing amount of fish which in turn decreases the population of the dolphins.
 * 4) Industrial Development in the Yangtze - People constructing dams and floodgates to regulate flow of water, unfortunately this traps fish and causes declines in food resources for the dolphins. Also, other deaths are caused by underwater explosions meant to make the river deeper and wider to promote illegal fishing.

The Chinese River Dolphin was believed to be extinct in 2006, leaving the world with no more in their population.

Conservation
As far as trying to save the species, most believe that it is far too late and it's already extinct. However, there are 5 natural reserves along the middle and lower region of the Yangtze, protecting any dolphins living there and their environment with laws against fishing, etc.. Unfortunately these laws don't prevent deaths of the Chinese River Dolphin from occurring. In addition to the natural reserves, there are 2 semi-natural reserves that are under human management and create housing for the dolphins. After the loss of the majority of the species, Chinese government passed laws that were meant to help stop and prevent future deaths of the dolphins and keep them from going extinct. They were: This attempt wasn't so successful at keeping the Chinese River Dolphin out of harms way. Not to mention, most organizations didn't want to invest their time in trying to help what they thought to be a lost cause because there was no real hope for their survival.
 * 1) "Circular for the protection of precious and rare wildlife"
 * 2) "Urgent circular banning hunt, trade and smuggling of precious and rare animals"



Work Cited

 * Chinese River Dolphin/ Baiji/ Yangtze River Dolphin (Lipotes Vexillifer). (n.d.). //Office of Protected Resources//. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from NOAA Fisheries website: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/chineseriverdolphin.htm
 * Chinese River Dolphin Facts. (n.d.). //Earth's Endangered Creatures//. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://www.earthsendangered.com/profile.asp?ID=3&sp=126
 * Lipotes Vexillifer. (n.d.). //Animal Info - Baiji//. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://www.animalinfo.org/species/cetacean/lipovexi.htm
 * Milbury, J. (2007, September 11). Scientists Fear Rare Dolphin Driven to Extinction by Human Activities, Other Species Also Vulnerable. In //Scientists Fear Rare Dolphin Driven to Extinction by Human Activities,// //Other Species Also Vulnerable//. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2007/sep07/noaa07-r133.html
 * Yangtze River Dolphin Lipotes vexillifer. (n.d.). //Mammals - Yangtze River// //Dolphin//. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from The Nature Conservancy website: http://www.nature.org/animals/mammals/animals/yangtzedolphin.html