What are the details of the baiji?

Baiji dolphin is an aquatic animal of mammals and cetaceans, and it is a small freshwater whale unique to China.

The baiji is spindle-shaped, with a body length of 1.5-2.5 meters and a weight of 230 kg. The snout protrudes forward like a bird's beak, narrow and long, with the tip of the snout slightly upturned, about 30 cm. The forehead is obviously raised, and the nostrils are long on the top of the head. When breathing, the head comes out first, and the spray is not high.

Baiji dolphin's eyes are very small, above and behind the quarrel. Ear holes are needle-shaped The dorsal fin is triangular, the flippers are wide, the ends are blunt and round, and the caudal fin is crescent-shaped. The back of the body surface is bluish gray, the ventral surface is white, and the caudal fin is not out of water.

Reasons for the endangered baiji dolphin

The number of baiji dolphins is decreasing year by year, mainly due to poor reproductive ability and more human activities in the Yangtze River basin. Most of the cetaceans belonging to baiji migrated to the salt water of the ocean tens of thousands of years ago, and the number of cetaceans living in the global freshwater basin is very small, among which the remaining five species of freshwater dolphins belong to endangered species.

In addition, according to genetic research, the genetic diversity of baiji is very low, which also speeds up the extinction. Therefore, scientists put forward suggestions for ex situ conservation.