EXTINCT!ydrodamalis gigasHOME
KingdomAnimaliaHunt on the Steller's sea cow.Unknown copyright
licence.
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderSirenia
FamilyDugongidae
GenusHydrodamalis
SpeciesHydrodamalis gigas
Authority(Zimmermann, 1780)
English NameSteller's Sea Cow
Danish NameStellers Sko
Dutch NameSteller-zeekoe
French NameRhytine de Steller
German NameStellersche Seekuh, Riesenseekuh, Borkentier
Norwegian NameStellers Sjku
Polish NameKrowa Morska
Portuguese NameDugongo de Steller
Spanish NameVaca Marina de Steller
Swedish NameStellers Sjko
SynonymsManati gigasZimmermann 1780;Manati balaenurusBoddaert
1785;Trichechus manatus var. borealisGmelin, 1788;Hydrodamalis
stelleriRetzius 1794;Sirene borealisLink, 1794;Manatus
borealisLink, 1795;Trichechus borealisShaw, 1800;Rytina manatus
borealisIlliger, 1811;Nepus stelleriG. Fischer, 1814;Rytina
borealisIlliger, 1815;Rytina cetaceaIlliger, 1815;Rytina
stelleriDesmarest, 1819;Stellerus borealisDesmarest, 1822;Haligyna
borealisBillberg, 1827;Rytina borealisF. Cuvier, 1836;Rhytine
stelleriBurmeister, 1837;Rytina gigasGray, 1850;Manatus gigasLucas,
1891;Hydrodamalis gigasPalmer, 1895.
TaxonomyA cladistic analysis of theSirenia(Domning, 1994) has
shown thatHydrodamalisfalls within the familyDugongidae. The
generaDusisirenandHydrodamalisform the sub-familyHydrodamalinae.
Domning (1976; 1978; 1994) has commented on the relatively good
fossil record of the hydrodamalines and its documentation of the
transition from a more traditional sirenian ancestor to the highly
specializedHydrodamalis. (Weinstein & Patton, 2000)
CharacteristicsSteller's Sea Cows were the largest and the only
cold-water members of the scientific order 'Sirenia' to which
manatees and dugongs also belong. These sea cows could reach a
length of about 7,9 meters (25,9 feet). Published mass estimates
range from 5400 to 11196 kilograms. With a heavy bone structure,
they had huge midsections, a disproportionately small head, and a
large, flat, twin-lobed tail. In the rough sea it was protected
from rocks and ice floes by its 3-cm (1-inch) thick bark-like black
skin (see left picture) and a 20-cm (4-9 inches) thick fat layer.
Their external ear openings were only about the size of a pea, but
the internal ear bones were very large, so excellent hearing can be
assumed, although when they were feeding, would completely ignore
even a boat. The Steller's sea cow was almost mute, making only
deep breathing sounds when coming up for air and loud moaning
sounds when wounded(Forsten & Youngman 1982).
LifestyleThe Steller's Sea Cow was gregarious, and herds appear
to have included juveniles, males and females. Juveniles were kept
toward the middle of the herd, and Steller (1751) describes herd
members attempting to come to the aid of captured individuals.
Steller's Sea Cows appears to have been monogamous, and Steller's
account of the animal's behaviour suggests the pair bond was quite
strong. Individuals spent the majority of their time feeding or
resting, and Steller (1751) notes that the head could be kept
submerged for 4-5 minutes at a time. Several first-hand observers
comment on the apparent fearlessness of this large sea cow.
According to Steller (1751), boats could be easily rowed into a
herd and humans could wade among individuals near shore with little
or no reaction. (Weinstein & Patton, 2000)
Range & HabitatThey inhabited the shallow cold marine
watersrich in algae and sea grassnear the shore around Bering
Island and Medney Island (Copper Island). These two islands are,
together with two small islets, part of the Komandorski Islands
(Commander Islands),a group of treeless islands east of the
Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, in the Bering Sea.
(Forsten & Youngman 1982)Image: range map of the Steller's sea
cow. The red dot shows the position of the Komandorski
Islands.Created by Peter Maas for The Extinction Website. This
image has been released under theCreative Commons Attribution
Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0Licence.Fossil evidence indicates
that the past distribution of the Steller's Sea Cow was much wider,
including the coasts of Japan and North America. A fossil ancestor
of the Steller's Sea Cow was theDugong Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis
cuestae). Fossil remains of this prehistoric sea cow are known from
as far south as the southern coast of California.Steller (1751)
notes that individuals or herds were often found near the mouths of
stream or rivers, which suggests they could not tolerate drinking
marine water. (Weinstein & Patton, 2000)
FoodSteller's Sea Cows consumed sea algae lying near the
surface, sea grasses, but primarily soft kelp. Since lacking teeth,
it ground its food by its deeply grooved keratinous plates in the
mandibles. Seasonal food availability may have been a problem for
the Bering Sea population, as Steller described individuals losing
enough weight during the winter months to cause their ribs and
vertebrae to be visible under the skin.Steller notes that
individuals or herds were often found near the mouths of freshwater
streams or rivers, which suggests they could not tolerate drinking
marine water.
ReproductionFew details are known of the mating system of the
Steller's Sea Cow. Steller describes them, as monogamous and mating
activities appear to have been concentrated in the early spring.
Steller's account of the animal's behaviour suggests the pair bond
was quite strong. Offspring were observed to be born at anytime of
the year, but most births took place in early autumn. Females
produced only one calf per breeding attempt. Steller inferred the
length of gestation to be over one year.
History & PopulationThe ancestor to Steller's Sea Cow was
possibly an extinct Dugongidae sea cow,Dusisiren jordani,
previously namedMetaxytherium jordani.Dusisirenwas common in the
shallow coastal waters of late Miocene California 10-12 million
years ago. Although Sirenian evolution is not fully understood,
there is a very clear and compelling fossil record leading up to
Steller's sea cow (Domning 1987).Mitochondrial DNA research suggest
that the sea cow-dugong divergence was likely as ancient as the
dugong-manatee split (30 million years ago). The sea cow-dugong
divergence appears to have been much earlier, namely 22 million
years ago, than the previously estimated 48 million years ago.
(Ozowa et al. 1997)Hydrodamalis cuestaehad evolved by late Miocene
time, around 5 million years ago (Dykens & Gillette 2006). This
fossil species is considered to be ancestral to the Steller's sea
cow (Demr 2006).The crew of Vitus Bering's ship 'St. Peter,
shipwrecked off the coast of Kamchatka in early November 1741. One
of them was Georg Wilhelm Steller, the naturalist and physician on
Bering's expedition. During the months that Steller and the other
survivors of Bering's crew spent on what would later be named
Bering Island. They discovered there the Steller's sea
cow,Hydrodamalis gigas. The presence of Steller's sea cow off
Bering Island was only as an evolutionary relict, a small
population confined to a very restricted area of cold waters near
the Kamchatkan peninsula (Dykens & Gillette 2006). Steller was
able to gather considerable information on the habits of the
Stelller's Sea Cow as well as an extensive set of measurements of
various parts of the sea cow's anatomy. Bering's crew could escape
in August 1742, after building a new boat from the wreckage of the
'St. Peter'. Steller published his observations in 1751. Another
extinct species, which was discovered by Georg Wilhelm Steller at
Bering Island, was theSpectacled Cormorant (Phalacrocorax
perspicillatus).The meat of these sea cows, which most often
referred to as being similar to veal and remained fresh for much
longer than any other available meat source in that time. The fat
was described as tasting like sweet almond-oil. Bering's crew only
killed their first Steller's Sea Cow 6 weeks before their escape in
August 1742. The meat was crucial in restoring their strength
during the final stages of building their new boat. Based on the
information from Steller's observations, the crew of other ships
arriving there unscrupulously slaughtered the sea cows for their
meat and fat. Also fur hunters flocked to the area. Only one out of
five Steller's Sea Cows hit by harpoon or rifle fire was retrieved,
but the majority escaped only to die at sea from their injuries.Off
Copper Island, where the population was initially low, there were
no animals left by 1754 .In 1768, explorer Martin Sauer entered in
his journal an account of the death of the last known Steller's Sea
Cow off Bering Island. So only 27 years after Steller first saw
these sea cows, the Steller's Sea Cow became extinct.(Forsten &
Youngman 1982)
Extinction CausesThe Stellers Sea Cow was hunted primarily as a
source of food. Steller (1751) describes the meat as being easily
prepared and similar to beef in taste and texture. The blubber was
useful for cooking and was also a source of lamp oil. The milk of
harvested cows was consumed directly or made into butter. The
thick, tough hide was used for shoes, belts and to make
skin-covered boats. No sustained yield practices were used, and the
low reproductive rate of the population, combined with its probable
existence in a sub-optimal environment likely hastened the species'
decline. Anderson (1995) has also noted that the intense hunting of
sea otters on the Bering Sea islands may have contributed to the
final extinction of the Steller's Sea Cow. It is known that sea
urchin populations can severely deplete sea grass and algae
communities when otters are removed, and as this happened on the
Bering Sea islands, the sea cows would have faced a new competitor
for food. (Weinstein & Patton, 2000)
Conservation AttemptsYakolev, a first-hand observer of the
Steller's Sea Cow, claims that an order was given to the
headquarters of the outpost on the Komandorskiye Islands on 27
November 1755, prohibiting hunting of the sea cows (translated in
Domning, 1978).
Museum SpecimensPhoto: a reconstructed skull of the Steller's
sea cow in the Rosensteinmuseum in Stuttgart, Germany. Courtesy by
Sordes. Copyright, all rights reserved.Today, the sea cow seems an
almost imaginary creature, but Steller's descriptions and a few
intact skeletons, skulls and pieces of skin, preserved in museums,
prove that this amazing animal lived in the Bering Sea just over
200 years ago.Specimens can be found in theRoyal Museum(Edinburgh,
United Kingdom),Natural History Museum(London, United Kingdom),The
Manchester Museum(Manchester, United
Kingdom),Naturkundemuseum(Braunschweig,
Germany),Schausammlung(Darmstadt, Germany),Staatliches Museum fr
Tierkunde(Dresden, Germany),Roemer- und
Pelizaeus-Museum(Hildesheim, Germany), Niederschsisches
Landesmuseum (Hanover, Germany),Naturhistoriska Museum(Gtenborg,
Sweden),Zoologiska museet(Lund, Sweden),Naturhistoriska
Riksmuseum(Stockholm, Sweden),Museum of Natural History(Helsinki,
Finland),Musum National d'Histoire Naturelle(Lyon, France),Muse
National d'Histoire Naturelle(Paris, France),Naturhistorisches
Museum(Vienna, Austria),Museum of Zoology(Krakow, Poland),Hungarian
Natural History Museum(Budapest, Hungary),Oceanographic
Museum(Monaco-Ville, Monaco),Naturkundemuseum(Basle,
Switzerland),Nature Museum(Kharkiv, Ukraine),Museum of
Paleontology(Kiev, Ukraine), Museum of Zoology (Kiev,
Ukraine),Zoological Museum(Lviv, Ukraine),Zoological Museum(Odessa,
Ukraine),Museum Ekaterinburg(Ekaterinburg, Russian
Federation),Museum Of Regional Studies(Irkutsk, Russian
Federation),Regional Lore Museum(Khabarovsk, Russian
Federation),Zoological Museum(Moscow, Russian
Federation),Paleontological Institute(Moscow, Russian
Federation),Biological Timiryazev Museum(Moscow, Russian
Federation),State Darwin Museum(Moscow, Russian Federation),Museum
of Local Lore(Nikolskoye, Bering Island, Russian Federation),Museum
of Kamchatka Local Lore(Petropawlowsk, Kamchatka, Russian
Federation),Zoological Institute of Academy of Sciences(St.
Petersburg, Russian Federation),Oceanarium(Wladiwostok, Russian
Federation),Primorsky Museum of Local Lore(Wladiwostok, Russian
Federation), Zoological Museum of the Far Eastern State University
(Wladiwostok, Russian Federation), Numata Fossil Laboratory
(Numata-cho, Hokkaido, Japan),Redpath Museum(Montreal, Quebec,
Canada),National Museum of Natural Sciences(Ottawa, Canada),
Australian Museum (Sydney, Australia),Smithsonian's National Museum
of Natural History(Washington DC, USA),Burke Museum of Natural
History and Culture(Seattle, Washington, USA),Museum of Comparative
Zoology(Cambridge, Massachusets, USA),Museum of
Paleontology(Berkeley, California, USA), Museum of Vertebrate
Zoology (Berkeley, California, USA)
RelativesThe closest living relatives of the Steller's sea cow
is the dugong (Dugong dugon) followed by the three manatee species;
the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the African manatee
(Trichechus senegalensis), and the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus
inunguis). Other living relatives are the Hyrax species; the
Southern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus), the Western tree hyrax
(Dendrohyrax dorsalis), the yellow-spotted rock hyrax (Heterohyrax
bruceii), and the Cape hyrax (Procavia capensis). More distant
relatives are the three elephant species; the Asian elephant
(Elephas maximus), the African Savannah Elephant (Loxodonta
africana), and the African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis).
(Ozowa et al. 1997)Image: a maximum parsimony tree showing the
relatedness of the superorder ofPaenungulata, consisting of the
orders of Proboscidae (elephants), Sirenia (sea cows and manatees)
and Hyracoidea (hyraxes). Based on Ozowa et al.Created by Peter
Maas for The Extinction Website. This image has been released under
theCreative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives
3.0Licence.Sadly, some of the closest relatives of the Steller's
sea cow, like the dugong (Dugong dugon), are endangered today.
These species' populations are declining as a result of pollution,
deaths caused by the propellers of outboard boat motors, and
habitat loss caused by human development.
Great Auk Caribbean Monk Seal Japanese Sea Lion Labrador Duck
Tasman Booby Yangtze River Dolphin Pallas's Cormorant Guadalupe
Storm-petrel Small St Helena Petrel Eelgrass limpet New Zealand
grayling Large St Helena PetrelEelgrass limpetFrom Wikipedia, the
free encyclopediaEelgrass limpet
Conservation status
Extinct(IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Gastropoda
(unranked):cladePatellogastropoda
Superfamily:Lottioidea
Family:Lottiidae
Genus:Lottia
Species:L. alveus
Binomial name
Lottia alveus(Conrad, 1831)
Theeelgrasslimpet, also known as the bowl limpet,scientific
nameLottia alveus, was aspeciesof seasnailor smalllimpet,
amarinegastropodmolluskin the familyLottiidae, theLottialimpets,
agenusof true limpets. This species lived in the westernAtlantic
Ocean.The eelgrass limpet now appears to be totallyextinct, but up
until the late 1920s, this species was apparently quite common, and
was easy to find at low tide ineelgrassbeds, in many sheltered
localities on the northeastern seaboard ofNorth
America.Contents[hide] 1Distribution before extinction 2Habitat
3Cause of extinction 4References 5External links
[edit]Distribution before extinctionThis limpet was found
fromLabrador,Canada, as far south asNew York.It supposedly went
extinct 60 years before its extinction was noticed (Fall,
2005)[edit]HabitatThis small limpet used to live on the blades
ofZosteramarina, a species ofseagrass.[edit]Cause of extinctionThe
extinction does not seem to have been caused directly by human
interference. This small limpet disappeared from thefaunabecause of
a sudden catastrophic collapse of the populations of the eelgrass
plant, which was its sole habitat and food source. In the early
1930s, the seagrass beds all along that part of the coastline were
decimated by "WastingDisease", which was caused by aslime mold.Some
colonies of the seagrassZostera marinalived inbrackish water, and
these areas served asrefugiafor the eelgrass since the Wasting
Disease did not spread to brackish water. The eelgrass was thus
able to survive the catastrophic impact of the disease. The limpet
however was unable to tolerate anything but normal salinity
seawater, and therefore it did not live through the crisis.Monachus
tropicalisHOME
KingdomAnimaliaCaptive Caribbean monk seal of unknown sex at the
New York Aquarium in ca. 1910. Specimen originally captured from
either Arrecifes Triangulos (Campeche) or Arrecife Alacran
(Yucatan) in Mexico (Townsend 1909).New York Zoological Society,
1910.Unknown copyright licence.
Plate 19, showing the West Indian Seal (Monachus tropicalis).
From "The Fisheries and Fisheries Industries of the United States",
by George Brown Goode (1887).This image is in thepublic
domainbecause its copyright has expired.This applies to the
European Union, Canada, the United States and those countries with
a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
FamilyPhocidae
GenusMonachus
SpeciesMonachus tropicalis
Authority(Gray, 1850)
TEWStatusExtinct (EX), Year assessed: 2010
IUCNStatusExtinct (EX), Year assessed: 2008
English NameCaribbean Monk Seal,West Indian Seal
Chinese Name
Dutch NameCaribische Monniksrob
Finnish NameFloridanmunkkihylje
French NamePhoque Moine des Carabes
German NameKaribische Mnchsrobbe
Hungarian NameKaribi Bartfka
Italian NameFoca Monaca dei Caraibi
Japanese Name
Korean Name
Polish NameMniszka Antylska
Portuguese NameFoca Monge das Carabas
Russian Name -
Spanish NameFoca Fraile del Caribe
Swedish NameVstindisk Munksl
SynonymsPhoca tropicalisGray, 1850
TaxonomyThe Caribbean monk seal is monotypic (has no
subspecies). According to Kenyon and Rice (1959) might theHawaiian
monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) be a subspecies of the Caribbean
monk seal. (Adam 2004)
CharacteristicsMales are thought to have reached a length of 2,1
to 2,4 metres and weighed up to 200 kilograms. Displaying sexual
dimorphism, the females of this species were generally smaller than
males. This species has rolls of fat around its neck. The backs of
adult seals were brown with a grey tinge. The underside was pale
yellow, as was the muzzle. The soles and palms were naked, with the
nails on the anterior digits well developed. The fur of newborns
was long and dark. Evidence suggests that the pups were weighing
between 16 and 18 kg, and measuring up to 1m in length. (Wikipedia
contributors 2006)
LifestyleThe Caribbean monk seal was spending much of their time
in the water, and occupying rocky and sandy coastlines for shelter
and breeding (Wikipedia contributors 2006). This monk seal did not
appear to fear distant humans or boats, but entered water after
being closely approached by men (0.9-1.8- m distance) or boats
(Adam 2004).
Range & HabitatThe Caribbean monk seal once inhabited the
Caribbean Sea, northwest to the Gulf of Mexico, as well as from the
Bahamas to the Yucatan Peninsula, south along the Central American
coast and east to the northern Antilles. Extralimital records and
fossil remains from the southeastern United States also exist.
These pinnipeds lived in marine environment.Image: historic range
(red) map of the Caribbean monk seal.Created by Peter Maas for The
Extinction Website. This image has been released under theCreative
Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0Licence.
FoodTheir diet included eels, lobsters, octopus, and other reef
fish. (Wikipedia contributors 2006) Captive Caribbean monk seals
were fed fish cut into small pieces and crabs. (Adam 2004)
ReproductionVery little is known about the reproduction
behaviour and longevity of this animal. All monk seals rest and
give birth on sandy coasts, on remote islands or undisturbed
beaches of the mainland. Pups were likely born in early December
because several females killed in the Yucatan during this time of
the year had well-developed foetuses. It is believed that this
animal's average lifespan was approximately 20 years. (Wikipedia
contributors, 2006)
History & PopulationEvidence now suggests that the pinnipeds
first appeared in the north-eastern Pacific, along the coast of
present-day California, some 23 million years ago. Initially, they
radiated throughout the North Pacific, eventually entering the
Atlantic Ocean via the Central American Seaway, an ancient waterway
that once separated North and South America. (Lavigne &
Johnson, 2001)There remains a great deal of conflicting thought on
the evolution of the monk seal. Gilmartin and Forcada (2002) offer
the hypothesize that the species originated in the North Atlantic
during the middle Miocene epoch, 15 million years ago with the
Hawaiian monk seal (M. schauinslandi) likely descending from the
extinct Caribbean monk seal (M. tropicalis),with the Mediterrean
monk seal(M. monachus) the basal taxon. (Overgard, 2003)However,
Berta and Sumich (1999) offer another hypothesis that concurs with
molecular studies done by Arnason et al. (1995). It identifiesM.
schauinslandias the sister taxon, or closest relative, to the other
monk seals implying the converse of the previous idea and
suggesting thatM. tropicalisdescended fromM. schauinslandi or
thatM. tropicalisandM. monachusevolved concurrently. Molecular
sequencing data supports this theory, butMonachusdata is limited to
the Hawaiian species and therefore leaves unanswered questions.
(Overgard, 2003)Evolutionists tend to disagree on the 'natural
history' of seals, sea lions and walruses, but based on the
primitive and unspecialised skeletal and vascular anatomy of monk
seals, agree that the 'earliest' fossil records, supposedly 20
million years old, reveal seals that look very much like monk seals
alive today. So much so that monk seals are often referred to as
'living fossils' because 'they have remained virtually unchanged
for 15 million years'.The Caribbean monk seal was the first New
World mammal to be discovered by Columbus and his company on the
coast of Santo Domingo in 1494. It appears in the account of
Columbus' second voyage to America. Columbus promptly ordered his
crew to kill eight of the animals, which he called "sea-wolves",
for food, paving the way for exploitation of the species by
European immigrants who came in his wake. Since then, the once
abundant seals have been hunted for their oil and slaughtered by
fishermen, who regarded the animals as competitors.H. Sloan wrote
in 1707: "The Bahama Islands are filled with seals; sometimes
fishers will catch one hundred in a night". The Caribbean monk seal
was documented as being easily approachable and not aggressive.
They were easily killed during directed hunts in the 17th and 18th
centuries. It is also known that sailors, whalers, and fishers
opportunistically killed the seals they encountered. As well,
Caribbean monk seals were killed by museum collectors and displayed
in zoos. The end of the 19th century witnessed relentless
slaughters and the species had already become rare in the 1880's,
before it was properly known to science. The Triangle Keys have
remained a stronghold of the species until 1915, when about 200
animals were butchered there. (Van den Hoek Ostende, 1999)The last
confirmed sighting in 1952 was of a small colony on Seranilla Bank,
a group of tiny coral islands halfway between Jamaica and Honduras
(Van den Hoek Ostende, 1999). An aerial survey in 1973, conducted
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, found extensive fishing
activity throughout the former range of this seal. A later cruise
through the Gulf of Mexico and around the Yucatan Peninsula failed
to find any Caribbean monk seals in the area. Surveys have been
carried out as late as 1993, all without success. The Caribbean
monk seal was formally declared extinct in the 1996 IUCN Red List
of Threatened Animals.Based on interviews with 93 fishermen in
northern Haiti and Jamaica during 1997 Boyd and Stanfield (1998)
made an assessment of the likelihood that monk seals survive in
this region of the West Indies. Those fishermen that were able to
provide further descriptions gave information about size and colour
that was consistent with many of these seals being monk seals. They
concluded that it is possible that the Caribbean monk seal is not
extinct. (Boyd & Stanfield, 1998)Local fishermen and divers
regularly claim to have seen the seal, making the existence of this
animal still a possibility, though some biologists believe that
these sightings may surely be of wandering hooded seals, which have
been positively been identified in islands such as Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Islands. It appears that the hooded seals are
increasingly straying far into new territories, even those a long
distance away from their home in the far north, and are visiting
the tropical beaches previously enjoyed by the sadly demised
Caribbean monk seal. (Mignucci-Giannoni & Haddow, 2001;
Wikipedia contributors, 2006)
Extinction CausesAll monk seal species appear to be sensitive to
disturbance, and early habitat exclusion by humans throughout their
range may have exacerbated their decline. Like other true seals,
the Caribbean Monk Seal was sluggish on land. This, along with its
lack of fear for man, and an unaggressive and curious behaviour,
likely contributed to its demise. (Wikipedia contributors,
2006)
Conservation AttemptsThe Jamaican Wild Life Law offered the
first legal protection to the Caribbean monk seal. Nonetheless,
occasional individuals subsequently straying onto Jamaican shores
were nearly always slaughtered. In 1949, he International
Conference of the Protection of Nature (United Nations Scientific
Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources)
included the Caribbean monk seal in a list of 14 mammals whose
survival was considered to be a matter of international concern and
which required immediate protection. (Adam 2004)The Caribbean monk
seal is since 1977 designated as Endangered in the Entire Range by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was first listed on March
11, 1967. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists this marine
mammal as extinct.Within historic times, 18 Caribbean monk seals
have been held in captivity on 8 separate occasions. None bred in
captivity (Adam 2004).Nowadays none survive in captivity.
Museum SpecimensThere are several preserved remains of this
species. The type specimen is in the collection of the British
Museum. TheMuseum of Natural History Naturalisin Leiden, the
Netherlands, has a mounted skin and its skull.The Leiden specimen
was purchased in1887from the Amsterdam dealerG.A. Frank.This
specimen wascollected byH.L. Ward, who visited theTriangle
KeysinCampeche Bay,Mexico, on four days in December1886. Ward
killed 49monk seals, of which 34 skins and seven skeletons were
secured. This material constituted the first good series of
scientific specimens. TheAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryinNew
Yorkacquired three skins, and adult male and female and a pup. (Van
den Hoek Ostende, 1999) The National Museum of Natural History in
Washington DC has also remains (Adam 2004). A collection of
Caribbean Monk Seal bones can be found at the Tropical Crane Point
Hammock Museum in Key Vaca, Florida, U.S.A. (Wikipedia
contributors, 2006).
Co-extinctionThe only parasite identified from the extinct
Caribbean Monk Seal is the nasal miteHalarachne americana,
recovered in great numbers and in all stages of its life cycle from
the respiratory passages of a single captive specimen.H.
americanais only known from the Caribbean Monk Seal, and after the
extinction of the seal in 1952 this mite has become extinct too.
(Adam 2004)
RelativesImage: Hawaiian monk seal and pup. This image is the
work of an U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, taken during
the course of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S.
federal government, the image is in thepublic domain.Monk seals are
pinnipeds, a group of marine carnivores that includes true seals,
fur seals, sea lions and the walrus.In historical times only three
species of monk seal existed, occurring far apart in tropical and
subtropical waters: one species on either side of the North
Atlantic and a third in the Hawaiian Archipelago in the tropical
pacific. With the expansion of man to even the most faraway
islands, the group seems doomed. The Mediterranean and Hawaiian
species are rapidly declining in numbers and will follow the
Caribbean monk seal, unless they will be better protected. The two
other Monk Seal species are the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus
monachus) and the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi).
Great Auk Caribbean Monk Seal Japanese Sea Lion Labrador Duck
Tasman Booby Yangtze River Dolphin Pallas's Cormorant Guadalupe
Storm-petrel Small St Helena Petrel Eelgrass limpet New Zealand
grayling Large St Helena PetrelZalophus japonicusHOME
KingdomAnimaliaJapanese Sea Lion, stuffed specimen at Tennji
Zoo, Osaka, Japan. Photographed by Nkensei in November 2006. This
imagehas been released under theGNU Free Documentation License.
Source:Wikimedia Commons.
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
SuborderPinnipedia
FamilyOtariidae
SubfamilyOtariinae
GenusZalophus
SpeciesZalophus japonicus
Authority(Peters, 1866)
English NameJapanese Sea Lion, Japanese Sealion
Czech NameLachtan japonsk
Dutch NameJapanse Zeeleeuw
French NameOtarie du Japon, Otarie Japonaise
German NameJapanischer Seelwe
Italian NameLeone Marino Giapponese
Japanese Name
Korean Name
Polish NameUchatka Japoska
Portuguese NameLeo-marinho-do-Japo
Spanish NameLen Marino de Japn
Swedish NameJapanskt Sjlejon
SynonymsZalophuslobatusJentink, 1892;Zalophus californianus
japonicus(Peters, 1866)
TaxonomyBefore 2003, the Japanese Sea Lion was classified
asZalophus californianus japonicus.It was raised to species level
following Wozencraft in Wilson and Reeder (2005): "Rice (1998),
followed here, argued for the retention ofjaponicus,californianus,
andwollenbaekias distinct species.Itoo (1985) concluded
thatjaponicuswas distinct, and behavioural differences
separatecalifornianusandwollenbaeki(Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1984). Itoo
classified the Japanese Sea Lion as a separate species because the
skulls of modern specimens were larger and wider in proportion than
that of the California Sea Lion (Sakahira and Niimi 2007).The first
report on a genetic analysis of the Japanese sea lion concluded:
"the distinctly divergent cluster of Japanese sea lions reflected
the morphological classification of these animals as a distinct
species of the genusZalophus; however, proximity to the California
sea lion cluster simultaneously implied conformation with the
traditional classification of these animals as a subspecies
ofZalophus californianus" (Sakahira and Niimi 2007). Molecular
evidence supports treating the Galpagos sea lion, the Californian
sea lion and the Japanese sea lion by the name of species Zalophus
wollebaeki and Zalophus californianus and Zalophus japonicus,
respectively (Wolf et al 2007).
CharacteristicsMale Japanese Sea Lions were dark grey and
weighed up to 450 to 560 kg reaching lengths of 2.3 to 2.5 meters;
these were larger than male California Sea Lions. Females were
significantly smaller at 1.64 meters long with a lighter colour
than the males.(Wikipedia contributors 2008)
Male Japanese Sea Lions were dark grey and weighed up to 450 to
560 kg reaching lengths of 2.3 to 2.5 meters; these were larger
than male California Sea Lions. Females were significantly smaller
at 1.64 meters long with a lighter colour than the males
Range & HabitatJapanese Sea Lionswere known from the
northwest Pacific where itprimarily occurred in the Sea of Japan
along the coastal areas of the Korean Peninsula, the coasts of the
Japanese Archipelago, the Kuril islands, and southern tip of the
Kamchatka Peninsula. (Seal Specialist Group 1996;Wikipedia
contributors 2008)The species was known to occupy marine waters and
coastal areas. Rarely found more than 16 km out to sea and
frequently hauling onto shore areas throughout the year, this
species breeds mainly on flat, open, sandy beaches, and sometimes
in rocky areas (Seal Specialist Group 1996).Image: map of the
former distribution range of the Japanese Sea Lion (in red). Based
on a map in Wolf et al. 2007.Created by Peter Maas for The
Extinction Website. This image has been released under theCreative
Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0Licence.
ReproductionThey usually bred on flat, open and sandy beaches
but rarely in rocky areas (Wikipedia contributors 2008).
History & PopulationVery little is known about the history
of the Japanese sea lion. The Japanese and California Sea Lions
were estimated to have diverged 2.2 million years ago, in the late
Pliocene Epoch (Sakahira and Niimi 2007).Many bones of Japanese Sea
Lion have been excavated from shell middens in Jmon period (about
14,000 BCE to 400 BCE) in Japan (Niimi 1990;National Museum of
Japanese History 2008) while an 18th century's Japanese
encyclopedia,Wakan Sansai Zuedescribes that the meat was not tasty
and they were only used to render oil for oil lamps (Terajima
1712). In 1866, the director of theBerlin natural history museum,
Wilhelm Peters, described the Japanese Sea Lion as a separate
species (Van den Hoek Ostende 1999).Harvest records from Japanese
commercial fishermen in the early 1900s show that as many as 3,200
sea lions were harvested at the turn of the century and overhunting
caused harvest numbers to fall drastically to 300 sea lions by 1915
and to few dozen sea lions by the 1930s. Commercial harvest of
Japanese sea lions ended in the 1940s when the species became
virtually extinct. In total, Japanese trawlers harvested as many as
16,500 sea lions, enough to cause their extinction.(Wikipedia
contributors 2008)The last reliable report mentioned the presence
in 1951 of 50-60 animals onLiancourt Rocks (Dokdo in Korean, and
Takeshima in Japanese), a small rocky island which came under
Korean rule after World War II (Rice 1998;Van den Hoek Ostende
1999).Individual sightings reported in the 1960's and 1970's,
including a possible juvenile captured in 1974 off the coast of
Rebun Island, northern Hokkaido, cannot be confirmed as confusion
with escaped California Sea Lion cannot be ruled out (Seal
Specialist Group 1996).
Extinction CausesSea lions have been captured for the circus
trade and have also been exploited for their skin and oil. Certain
internal organs were also valuable in Oriental medicine and its
whiskers were reportedly used as pipe cleaners. However, the main
reason for the extinction of the Japanese Sea Lion is thought to be
persecution by fishermen. (Seal Specialist Group 1996) Rumour has
it that Korean soldiers usedsea lionsin shooting practices (Van den
Hoek Ostende 1999).
Conservation AttemptsA former fisherman of the Oki Islands
stated that they worked to protect the sea lion population to
ensure perpetuity of the resource before WWII(Wikipedia
contributors 2008).
ReintroductionThe Korean Environment Ministry has announced that
South and North Korea, Russia and China will collaborate on
bringing back the Japanese Sea Lion in the Sea of Japan. The
ministry said "while the animals are close to extinction in South
Korea and Japan, it is possible that there are some in Chinese and
Russian waters". The four countries will conduct joint research by
2010. If they manage to find one in these countries, then the
government will bring some to the Sea of Japan, but if not, it
plans to bring some California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
from the United States. (Bae 2007)
Museum SpecimensSeveral mounted specimens can be found in Japan
(Wikipedia contributors 2008). The National Museum of Natural
History 'Naturalis' in Leiden, the Netherlands, has three mounted
specimens, a skeleton and four skulls (Van den Hoek Ostende 1999).
The British Museum is holding one skin and four skulls (Wikipedia
contributors 2008).
RelativesThe genusZalophusincludes only includes only three
species, including the extinct Japanese Sea Lion. The other two
surviving species are the California Sea Lion (Zalophus
californianus) and the Galpagos Sea Lion (Zalophus
wollebaeki).California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) and the
Galpagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki)Images: the left-hand image
shows a California Sea Lion in Point Lobos State Reserve, Monterey,
California, USA. Photograped by Tewy at 13 July 2006
(source:Wikimedia Commons). The right-hand image shows a Galpagos
Sea Lion. Photographed by Marc Figueras at 21 September 2004,
Galpagos Islands (source:Wikimedia Commons).Bothimages have
beenreleased under theCreative Commons
AttributionShareAlike2.5Licence.
Yangtze River-dolphinThe Yangtze river-dolphin of China,
orbaijias it is called locally, was first described in scientific
journals only 80 years ago.In 1979, baiji was classified as
endangered.In August 2007, it was officially declared extinct.The
Yangtze river-dolphin had a stocky body about one and a half metres
long. It had tiny eyes, and reasonable eyesight. Its long, narrow
slightly upturned beak was like that of other river-dolphins. It
appeared to be a dark blue-grey on its back and greyish white on
its stomach. It had a triangular dorsal fin, and its flippers were
broad and rather rounded.Baiji were most active from early evening
to early morning, but also hunted fish during the day. A very shy
animal, it was difficult to approach, so sightings of it were very
rare. They were apparently often alone or in groups of up to six,
generally in places where streams join the main river, especially
around shallow sand banks.Sometimes, when it was very quiet, the
baiji's blow could be heard, sounding a little like a sneeze.In
1975, China declared the Baiji a 'National Treasure' and began
conservation and protection of the mammal. This had little success
because of heavy boat traffic, fishing, and industrial development,
including the construction of the world's largest dam, the Three
Gorges dam. A lake in Hubei province was made into a reserve, with
the aim of moving the animals there to better protect them.
However, it was too late, and no baiji were found despite an
intense search.The Yangtze is one of the world's busiest rivers in
the world's most populated country.Yangtze River Dolphin -Lipotes
vexillifer
KingdomAnimaliaPhoto: The Baiji or Yangtze River Dolphin
(Lipotes vexillifer).Photo copyright:baiji.org foundation, Steven
Leatherwood.All right reserved.
Image: A paining of the Baiji or Yangtze River Dolphin (Lipotes
vexillifer). Created by Alessio Marrucci for university work in
2006. This file is licensed under theCreative
CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unportedlicense.
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCetacea
SuborderOdontoceti
FamilyIniidae
GenusLipotes
SpeciesLipotes vexillifer
AuthorityMiller, 1918
TSEW StatusPossibly Extinct (PE), Year assessed: 2010
IUCN StatusCritically Endangered (CR), Year assessed: 2008
English NameBaiji, Yangtze River Dolphin, Changjiang Dolphin,
Chinese Lake Dolphin, White Flag Dolphin, Whitefin Dolphin
Chinese Name
Croatian NameBaiji, Kineski Rijeni Dupin, Kineski Jezerski
Dupin, Jangce Dupin
Dutch NameChinese Vlagdolfijn, Baiji
Finnish NameKiinanjokidelfiini
French NameBaiji, Dauphin de Chine, Dauphin Fluviatile de Chine,
Dauphin du Chang Jiang, Dauphin du Yang Ts
German NameChinesischer Fludelphin, Chinesische Flussdelfin,
Jangtse-Delfin, Baiji
Japanese Name
Lithuanian NameKinijos Eerinis Delfinas
Polish NameDelfin Chiski
Russian Name
Spanish NameBaiji, Delfn de China
Swedish NameBaiji, Asiatisk Floddelfin, Asiatisk Delfin,
Kinadelfin, Vitflaggsdelfin, Yangtzedelfin
TaxonomyThis species was listed under the family Platanistidae
in the 1996-2002 IUCN Red Lists of Threatened Species. Some authors
prefer to place it rather in the family Iniidae. (Reeves, Smith,
Wang & Zhou 2005)
Comments/TriviaThe species has been listed as Critically
Endangered since 1996, but in 2007 it was reassessed as Critically
Endangered and flagged as Possibly Extinct. Further survey work is
essential to confirm whether this species still exists or if it is
indeed now extinct; for example, a reported sighting of the species
in August 2007 required confirmation. Chinese media reported that a
businessman in Tongling City in east Chinas Anhui Province filmed a
big white animal with his digital camera on 19 August. Professor
Wang Ding, a leading scientist at the Institute of Hydrobiology of
the Chinese Academy of Sciences later confirmed that the footage
could be showing the Baiji dolphin (WWF 2007), but he couldn't rule
out the alternative possibility that it was a Yangtze Finless
Porpoise,Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis(Turvey, 2008).
The Sixth Extinction Website agrees with WWF and many scientists
that this species is functionally extinct, but also that it is
still too early to declare its extinction. (IUCN 2007; Smithet
al.2007; WWF 2007)Video: A Reuters video on the August 2007
sighting of the Baiji with a part of the videotape made by a
Chinese man. Hayley Platt reports. Reuters 2007. All rights
reserved. (Reuters article on the Baiji sighting.)
CharacteristicsThe Baiji was a streamlined dolphin with a long
narrow and slightly upturned beak-like snout and a flexible neck.
They had a rounded melon, elliptical and oriented longitudinally
blowhole, low triangular dorsal fin and broad, rounded flippers.
The very small eyes, located high on their heads, were functional,
but its sight was reduced. The flippers were rounded. They had
30-36 teeth per side of both the upper and lower jaws. This species
had 30-36 teeth per side of both the upper and lower jaws. Its
dorsal colour was pale blue-grey to grey, while ventrally they were
white to ash-white.Image: Size comparison of a baiji (Lipotes
vexillifer) to an average human. Created by Chris Huh on 7 March
2007. A full resolution version can be found atWikimedia Commons.
The copyright holder of this work has release it into thepublic
domain. This applies worldwide.The bigger females ranged from 185
to 253 cm in length and weigh 64-167 kg, while males ranged from
141 to 216 cm in length and weigh 42-125 kg. The minimum estimate
of this species' lifespan is 24 years, provided by the estimated
year of age of one wild-caught baiji, based on dentition. (Nowak
1999; Zhou 2002; Culik 2003; Poor & Grigg 2003; Massicot
2006)
FoodThe Baiji preyed on fish of many sizes and various species,
including both surface and bottom feeders (Chenet al. 1997). During
short dives, they used their long beak-like snouts to probe for
food in the muddy river bottom in the shallow water near sandbanks
or close to the mouth of tributaries of the river. (Poor &
Grigg 2003)
ReproductionLittle is known about the reproductive activities of
baiji (Poor & Grigg 2003). Sperm density in males varied
seasonally and ovulation was periodic in females. The mating season
peaked in spring and in autumn. The Baiji's gestation period
estimates range from 6 to 12 months. Every two year, the females
gave birth to one 80 cm long calf (Nowak 1999), with a peak calving
season appearing to be from February to April (Zhou 2002; Culik
2003). The calves were carried by their mothers close to the side
of their bodies while swimming, diving and breathing at the
surface. The nursing period is unknown. (Poor & Grigg 2003) The
females reached sexual maturity at an age of 6 years and about 4
years in males (IWC 2000).
LifestyleNot much is known about the Baiji's behaviour, due to
its cryptic habits. They were usually found in pairs, which
aggregated to form larger social units of about 10 individuals.
These river dolphins searched for fish during the day and spent
most of their time in the vicinity of large eddies. They rested in
areas of slow current at night. The baiji navigated in the turbid
waters of the Yangtze River with echolocation. They communicated
with other baiji using whistles and other acoustic signals.Click
here to listen to the baiji whistle(From the baiji.org foundation
website). (Nowak 1999; Poor & Grigg 2003)
Range & HabitatThe Baiji is endemic to the Yangtze River
(Chang Jiang) of China. During the great flood of 1955 some
individuals were seen in the Fuchun River, but they disappeared
after the construction of a hydropower station in 1957 (Zhou 2002).
Historically this species also occurred in the Dongting and Poyang
Lakes, both appended water bodies of the Yangtze (Zhouet al.1977,
Chenet al.1980).Image: map of China. The former range of the Baiji
in the Yangtze River in China is coloured red in the right-hand
upper map. Created by 'Papayoung'. The original version of this
image can be found atWikimedia Commons. This image is licensed
under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0license.
History & PopulationFossil records indicate that the
dolphins may have migrated from the Pacific Ocean to the Yangtze
River 20 million years ago. It is estimated that there were 5,000
Chinese River Dolphins when they were described in the Han Dynasty
(206 BC - AD 220) dictionary Erya, the oldest extant Chinese
dictionary (Wikipedia contributors 2006a). The estimated population
size before 1900 was 3000-5000 (Ellis 1993; Leatherwood &
Genthe 1995). In the beginning of the 1980s there were still around
400 Baiji (Ellis 1993). On the basis of surveys conducted in 1985
and 1986, it was estimated that the total population was around 300
individuals (Chen and Hua 1989; Reeves et al. 2003). In 1993 their
population consisted of about 150 - 240 animals (Ellis 1993) and in
1995 there were estimated to be fewer than 100 individuals
(Leatherwood & Genthe 1995). An intensive survey in November
1997 produced a total count of only 13 dolphins (Wang 2000).QiQi, a
baiji male who became the only baiji in captivity when he was
rescued in 1980, died in his tank at the Wuhan Institute of
Hydrobiology in 2002. (Macartney 2005; Baiji.org Foundation
2006ac)Later there were confirmed sightings are of two baiji (one
large adult, one juvenile) in the Xin-Lou (Honghu) National Baiji
Reserve in July 2004, and a large adult baiji in the Tongling
Provincial Baiji Reserve in September 2004. (Baiji.org Foundation
2006abc)On 6 November 2006, the "Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin
Expedition 2006" has been launched on Monday in the city of Wuhan
in Central China. This 30-member search expedition, under the
direction of the Institute for Hydrobiology Wuhan and the
Swissbased baiji.org Foundation, made up of both Chinese and
foreign researchers conducted a six-week survey of the river. The
expedition has been led by the Ministry of Agriculture and brought
together world-class experts from institutes such as the Swiss
Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the
Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute from San Diego and the Fisheries
Research Agency in Japan. The scientists were travelling on two
research vessels almost 3500 kilometers from Yichang nearby the
Three Gorges Dam to Shanghai into the Yangtze Delta and back, using
highperformance optical instruments and underwater microphones. On
13 December 2006, in the city of Wuhan in central China, the
expedition drew to a finish without any results. They failed to
spot even one of the dolphins. August Pfluger, head of Swissbased
baiji.org Foundation and co-organizer of the expedition, said that
it possible they may have missed one or two animals, but that we
have to accept the fact that the baiji is functionally extinct. The
species doesn't occur un sufficient numbers to breed and ward off
extinction. (Baiji.org Foundation 2006bc; CNN.com 2006; The
Hankyoreh Media Company 2006)Most people thought the Baiji had
become extinct, however Chinese media reported that a businessman
in Tongling City in east Chinas Anhui Province filmed a big white
animal with his digital camera on 19 August 2007. Professor Wang
Ding, a leading scientist at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences later confirmed that the footage could
be showing the Baiji dolphin (WWF 2007), but he couldn't rule out
the alternative possibility that it was a Yangtze Finless
Porpoise,Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis(Turvey, 2008).
(IUCN 2007; Smithet al.2007; WWF 2007)
Extinction CausesThe Baiji declined due to the following threats
to the species: a period of hunting by humans during the Great Leap
Forward, entanglement in fishing gear, the illegal practice of
electric fishing, collisions with boats and ships, habitat loss,
and pollution. (Reeveset al.2005; Wikipedia contributors 2006a)The
Great Leap Forward () of the People's Republic of China was an
economic and social plan to use China's vast population to rapidly
transform mainland China from a primarily agrarian economy
dominated by peasant farmers into a modern, industrialized
communist society. The Great Leap Forward was initiated and led by
Mao Zedong, and carried out by the Communist Party of China from
1958 to early 1962 (Wikipedia contributors 2006b). The Baiji's
traditionally venerated status as "goddess of the river" was
denounced and dolphins were hunted for their flesh and skin. A
factory producing handbags and gloves from Baiji skin opened but
the operation was short-lived because the animals quickly became
scarce (Zhou and Zhang 1991; Reeveset al.2005).Entanglement in
fishing gear was estimated in the 1970s80s to have been responsible
for at least half of observed mortality (Linet al. 1985, Zhou and
Li 1989, Chen 1989, Chenet al. 1997). It was prohibited to use both
rolling hooks and fyke nets in the Yangtze River, but enforcement
of these prohibitions proved to be very difficult. (Zhouet al.
1998; Zhou and Wang 1994; Reeveset al.2005)Electric fishing is
"strictly banned" in the Yangtze (Zhouet al. 1998), but is widely
practiced, particularly in the centre of the baiji's distribution
(IWC 2001). By the early 2000s, electric fishing was considered
"the most important and immediate direct threat to the Baiji's
survival. (Zhanget al. 2003). The electric shocks kill Baiji
outright (Chen and Hua 1989) and unselectively kill other aquatic
organisms, including the baiji's prey. (Reeveset al.2005).As China
developed economically, ship traffic multiplied and the size of the
boats grew. Underwater noise pollution made the nearly blind animal
prone to collisions with propellers. Propeller strikes have killed
and injured baiji (Zhou and Zhang 1991, Chenet al. 1997; Wikipedia
contributors 2006a)Water development has transformed the baiji's
habitat by dredged riverbeds, concrete reinforcements and by
interrupting their movements upstream of dams, eliminating their
access to tributaries and appended lakes, and reducing fish
productivity. The building of the Three Gorges Dam, completed in
the early 2000s, further reduced the dolphin's habitat and
facilitated an increase in ship traffic. Many parts of the Yangtze
River have become much shallower because of siltation from
deforestation and agricultural development. (Liuet al. 2000;
Reeveset al.2005; Wikipedia contributors 2006a).Industrialization
and the spread of modern agricultural practices have led to an
increase of pollutant loads in the Yangtze River. (Reeveset
al.2005)
Conservation AttempsThe baiji had been protected by custom in
the past, since the Chinese considered it to be an incarnation of a
drowned princess (Burton & Pearson 1987). In China this species
was also nicknamed "Giant Panda of the Yangtze River" and "Goddess
of the Yangtze" (), which may reflect the general affection for
this dolphin species (Tan 1996).The Chinese Government began to
protect the baiji in 1975 under National Law, and designated it a
"National Treasure". Since then, catching or killing a baiji could
result in heavy fines or even a long jail sentence. (Baiji.org
Foundation 2006) Currently the Baiji is designated in the First
Category of National Key Protected Wildlife Species and has full
legal protection throughout its range (Reeves et al 2005).Since the
late 1980s, the primary strategy to prevent the baiji's extinction
has been to capture as many dolphins as possible and to introduce
them into "semi-natural reserves". However, the expectation that
sufficient numbers of Baiji could be caught and placed in the
reserves to establish a viableex situpopulation has proven
unrealistic. (Reeves et al 2005)Since 1992, the Chinese Government
has set aside five protected areas along the length of the Yangtze
River and declared them as National and Provincial baiji reserves
(see right hand map).Image: map with conservation efforts of the
Baiji along the Yangtze. 1 = Tian-e-Zhou Oxbow Semi-natural Baiji
Reserve; 2 = Shishou City National Baiji Reserve; 3 = Xin-Lou
(Honghu) National Baiji Reserve; 4 = Tongling Provincial Baiji
Reserve; 5 = Zhenjiang Provincial Baiji Reserve. Created by Peter
Maas for The Sixth Extinction Website. This image has been licenced
under theCreative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives
3.0licence.In four protected areas the baiji is actively protected
and fishing is completely banned: the Shishou City National Baiji
Reserve, the Xin-Lou (Honghu) National Baiji Reserve, the Tongling
Provincial Baiji Reserve, and the Zhenjiang Provincial Baiji
Reserve. A fifth protected area is an isolated oxbow lake located
off of the north bank of the river near Shishou City: the
Tian-e-Zhou Oxbow Semi-natural Baiji Reserve. Additionally there
are five Baiji Protection Stations in Jianli, Chenglingji, Hukou,
Wuhu and Zhengjiang. A "protection station" consists of two
observers and a small motorized fishing boat, who make daily
patrols, make observations and investigate reports of illegal
fishing. (Baiji.org Foundation 2006a)The baiji is listed in
Appendix 1 of CITES since 1979 (UNEP-WCMC 2006), and was listed as
endangered on the IUCN Red Lists of Threatened Species of 1986,
1988, 1990 and 1994. Since 1996 this animal is listed as critically
endangered. (Reeveset al.2005)
CloningIn theory it would be possible to clone the baiji,
because unlike to theTasmanian tiger or thylacine, fresh DNA has
been retrieved and stored in recent years. The Institute of Genetic
Resources, Nanjing Normal University (NJNU) has muscle and skeletal
samples preserved. These samples were gathered from stranded or
incidentally killed individuals from the middle and lower reaches
of the Yangtze River. (Yanget al.2005)The problem is that a
cetacean has never been cloned before. It is also not sure if a
surrogate mother can be found in a related species. The other river
dolphins are also endangered, and maybe it will not even be
possible to use another river dolphin species. Besides, even when
it would be technological possible to clone the baiji, than there
is probably no suitable habitat left where these clones could
live.
Museum SpecimensThe stuffed and enamelled body of the only
captive baiji, QiQi, is kept in a specimen room at the Hydrobiology
Institute in the central Chinese city of Wuhan (Macartney 2005). Do
you know another museum specimen?Contactthis website.
RelativesThe baiji was one of four species of freshwater or
river dolphins. The Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) and the
La Plata River Dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei)from South America.
The now possible only surviving Asian species is the South Asian
River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica), consisting of two subspecies
namely: the Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica)
and the Indus River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor).
http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/lists/fish.htm YES!