Baiji Dolphin
The baiji dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer) is a small freshwater fish that inhabits rivers, streams, lakes, canals, and ponds in China's Yangtze River basin. They are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List due to their low population numbers, pollution problems, habitat loss, and overfishing. However, many conservationists consider them unsuitable for commercial use. There have been numerous reports of people capturing baijis from local waters for both food and traditional medicine. This has led to the species being called China’s “National animal”.
Conservation
In recent years, the Chinese government has taken steps to protect the baiji, including banning fishing in some areas, creating special management zones, and building artificial reefs. Some believe that the baiji could disappear in less than 15 years if current trends continued.
History
The first scientific report on the baiji was published in 1883 by British naturalist George Albert Boulenger. He described the creature as being similar to a killer whale although much smaller. In 1994, scientists were able to identify the baiji as a distinct species after examining its DNA. They published their findings in two separate articles.
Dolphins are highly intelligent animals. Their brains are about 20% larger than those of humans. They have been observed working together and even cooperating as teams. Dolphins use echolocation to navigate through their environments. Male dolphins often work together to protect and provide security for their communities. Because they live in relatively small groups, social relationships between individuals are quite complex. When dolphins are stressed, they rub their bodies against surrounding objects to create acoustic signals that can be heard and understood by other members of the community.
Like people, dolphins have personalities. However, we don't know much about this due to the difficulty of observing them directly. Little research has been done suggests that they may form strong bonds with specific individuals, but whether these bonds are romantic or not is difficult to say.
Dolphins are born into a world where they don't know anything. As they mature, they begin interacting with others of their species. They spend the first two years of life playing with other calves. This allows them to learn how to survive in their environment. Later on, males leave their mothers and go off on their own to establish territories. Females stay put, but they too interact socially with other females.
The dolphin brain is structured similarly to ours. Like us, they are left-handed (most people swim right). They have language centers, just like us. And like us, they can recognize themselves in mirrors. Dolphins are known to suffer from diseases that affect humans, such as diabetes. But unlike humans, who get sick if their blood sugar levels become too low, they cannot develop hypoglycemia. Instead, when their blood sugar gets too high, they get hyperglycemic. They typically only suffer short-term ill effects from this condition and do not develop long-term health problems.
