Protecting endangered dolphins in the Yangtze River

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02:43

The finless porpoise or jiangtun in Chinese has made its home in the Yangtze River as far back as 25 million years ago. But, with the recent deterioration of their habitat, the animal is now facing extinction.

Wild finless porpoise swimming in the eastern part of Dongting Lake. /CGTN Photo

Experts say there are only less than 1,000 of them and they could be extinct in just 10 years. But some people have been doing everything they can to save the species. Xu Yaping is one of them.

Xu fell in love with the porpoise decades ago when he often saw groups of them swimming in the river. “It was spectacular then. And they looked adorable,” Xu recalled, “But later I saw people killing and eating them. I felt so sad and decided to do something.”

Xu Yaping (second from the left) and his team members on a daily patrol along the lake. /CGTN Photo

Fifty-two-year-old Xu has been working as a journalist for decades. In 2011, he set up a protection association for the finless propoise in the city of Yueyang in central China's Hunan Province. Now the number of team members has increased to around 200.

Dongting Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in China and also part of the Yangtze River. Xu and his team carry out daily patrol along the eastern part of the lake for any illegal activities that can harm the endangered animal. They've been patrolling from dawn until after dusk every day over the past seven years.

Xu and his team often take shock actions in midnight to catch eletro-fishing. /CGTN Photo

A major job for Xu and his team is hunting for electro-fishing. Besides harming the fish, it also disrupts the food chain of the river dolphins. Xu hates this lethal way of fishing, “It's a massive killing of adult and baby fish, leaving nothing for breeding, nothing for the next generation of people.”

The risky job sometimes brings injuries. Once while on a daily patrol Xu suffered a bad fall that caused a bowel perforation. And their boat even capsized once.

Xu and his team were tearing down a set of illegal fishing tools. /CGTN Photo

A few years ago, they even signed a contract, which read that if any of them died in the fight to protect the porpoise, those that lived will take care of his or her family.

“We've been determined to save the species at all cost. We take it as a bet and we are going to win the bet in ten years”, Xu looked confident, “My biggest wish is to save the smiles of the river dolphins.”