China to Better Protect Black Finless DolphinsExperts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said that the black finless dolphin is becoming an endangered species in the Yangtze River and it should be better protected, along with the white-finned dolphin.The number of black finless dolphins, which have a habitat similar to that of the white-finned dolphin, one of the world's most endangered species, is less than 2,000, and compared with 2, 700 in 1993, their number is shrinking by more than 100 a year. The biggest threats to the black finless dolphin is fishing, shipping, water control projects, environmental pollution, and other human activities on the Yangtze River, according to Tuesday's Popular Science and Technology News. These increase the danger of the species' existence because they like to swim near the river banks, an expert from the Institute of Hydrobiology under the CAS said. Many Chinese scholars in this field have united to suggest to the government that the state protection level for the animal be raised from second to first. They also suggest that more effective measures and research work be carried out to improve the living environment for the animal and help it to thrive. |
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