F9C22, the first female Yangtze finless porpoise bred naturally in an artificial environment in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, turned one year old on June 27, 2023.
Photo shows F9C22 at the Yangtze River Dolphin Aquarium of the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo/Sun Xiaodong)
F9C22 was born on June 27, 2022 and the mother's labor process was watched by more than 200 million internet users through a livestream.
F9C22 and her mother "Fujiu" swim. (Photo courtesy of Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation)
There are currently 11 Yangtze finless porpoises living at the Yangtze River Dolphin Aquarium of the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, including four bred artificially.
"Taotao," the father of F9C22, was born in the same aquarium on July 5, 2005, being the world's first Yangtze finless porpoise bred in an artificial environment. "Fujiu," the mother of F9C22, settled in the aquarium in 2011.
F9C22 swims at the Yangtze River Dolphin Aquarium of the Institute of Hydrobiology, the CAS in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo/Sun Xiaodong)
F9C22 took milk from her mother a day after she was born. She weighed 6.5 kg and measured 70 cm at birth, and now weighs 35 kg and is 1.1 meters long.
Wang Chaoqun, the training director at the Yangtze River Dolphin Aquarium, said F9C22 and her mother have been very intimate over the past year. F9C22 eats well, plays well, and learns fast. She is good at catching fish and eats 2 kg of food a day, said Wang Chaoqun.
F9C22 gets fish from a staff member at the Yangtze River Dolphin Aquarium. (Photo courtesy of Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation)
Wang Kexiong, head of the cetacean research group at the Institute of Hydrobiology, said trainers started to feed F9C22 fish after they received 10,000 kg of fresh fish donated by enterprises in Wuhan to F9C22's family on Oct. 24, 2022, International Freshwater Dolphin Day.
On Feb. 25, 2023, F9C22 successfully caught and ate a small fish, which excited her trainers.
Wang Kexiong noted that female Yangtze finless porpoises reach sexual maturity when they are about 6 years old. After she turns 6, F9C22, the second generation of her species bred in an artificial environment, is expected to contribute to the reproduction of the third generation of Yangtze finless porpoises.
F9C22 gets fish from a staff member at the Yangtze River Dolphin Aquarium. (Photo courtesy of Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation)
The population of Yangtze finless porpoises has reached 1,249, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced on Feb. 28, 2023.
"Monitoring data indicated that the population of Yangtze finless porpoises has been declining over the past more than 40 years. The recent result marks a transformative change and the first rebound of the species' population," said Wang Ding, council chairman of the Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation.
