Yangtze River Dolphin extinct

[H2Andy]

got you...

would be nice to do both, though

 

[havnmonkey]

Well we all know what it's going to come down to: Humans vs. CockRoaches... I live in FL and I'll put my money on the little bugs.

 

[Wildcard]

That would be quite a feat, considering this is a FRESH water dolphin.

Ya would think that would be obvious since RIVER is in it's name. I have pointed this out twice before here but it is a "cause" so everyone wants to jump on it. Too late folks, there gone. Maybe next time you will take a minute to read though something before endorsing or dismissing it.:shakehead

 

[lock_washer]

Okay...then lets focus on what we can save. I am remindered of ten years ago with that whole "Free Willy" fiasco...they spent 20 million dollars trying to release an orca back into the wild, that really didn't want to be freed. They wanted that "feel-good hollywood ending" so bad, that they overlooked that fact the money could have been spent better on saving whales, dolphins, porpoises, and sharks in the wild.

 

[Midnight Star]

got you...

would be nice to do both, though

It sure would, and your right, they need to be a steward first.

I'd imagine there wasn't anything better than to be on the bow of a ship, and see great pods of dolphins racing off stern. With white sprays of mist, dusting the sky as they leap one after another with great cackling "barks". Or that of a large, fully mature whale, and it breaks the surface, on a dive to depths yet unknown, spraying the air with the warmth of it's breath; ever on an infinate voyage of wonder where the ocean meets the sky.

-----

Mike.

 

[Mr.X]

Okay...then lets focus on what we can save. I am remindered of ten years ago with that whole "Free Willy" fiasco...they spent 20 million dollars trying to release an orca back into the wild, that really didn't want to be freed. They wanted that "feel-good hollywood ending" so bad, that they overlooked that fact the money could have been spent better on saving whales, dolphins, porpoises, and sharks in the wild.

That's one retrospective analysis. An alternate view might be that rehabilitation and release of that magnitude had never been undertaken. Valuable data certainly came back from that trial. While the project did not live up to expectation it did generate tremendous publicity vital for whale conservation while educating scores of children who started to ask critical questions. Not worth it eh?

X

 

[havnmonkey]

The biggest problem here is not pollution... It is what causes pollution; uncontrolled growth. China was, until recently, the most populated country on the planet; of course it has a major pollution problem.

However, remember that whole "no more than one child" law they have over there. That seems to have worked atleast a little bit to curb the population growth.

The U.S. is also growing at an alarming rate and we will (and have) faced similar troubles. Recent news stories have reported that the Florida panther is on the comeback; if having a population of 100 can be considered a comeback. Unfortunately Florida is one of the fastest growing states and the growing panther numbers have also increased the number of "dangerous interactions" with residents.

Our population will continue to increase and wild habitat will continue to decrease; this is true for the whole planet. Even Antarctica...

 

[dhampton82]

Its too late for the Yanzte River Dolphins...however you still can save the finless porpoise there in China. But alot of people don't realize that in Baja, California in the upper area there is another porpoise on the verge of extinction...the vaquita (the Gulf of California harbor porpoise). There's only about 400 of them left, but they are getting caught in gill nets bigtime. I know this is a unpopular idea, but to save the vaquita, the best option is to capture a few for captivity and breed them there. Sea World has perfected artificial insemination with orcas, lags, and bottlenose dolphins. Plus if people see the live animal on display, they would want to do more to help save it. I know some people hate captivity, but since Georgia Aquarium put 4 whale sharks on display...people are more interested in them.

I too think that captivity and displaying the animals could be a key to saving a species. If people see the animals in a zoo/ aquarium, they will be more likely to take a stand on trying to do something for the animals. And to those opposed to captivity and exploitation of animals, wouldn't you sacrifice one of your toes to save the rest of your body?

I am definitely not a animal expert by any means, and truthfully have heard a mention in my life of the vaquita or the river dolphin, but how do you expect people to take a stand and try to protect and animal that 99.9% of people have never heard of?

If more people are talking about saving a vaquita (for example) then some politician looking for votes is gonna come along and try to do something to help the species.

 

[dhampton82]

Ya would think that would be obvious since RIVER is in it's name.

Never seen a non-fresh water river? There is one about 2 miles from me right now

 

[lock_washer]

That's also another problem too....when the politicians get involved, or the extremetist enviromental groups. They are interested more in building a "powerbase" than to really help in a cause. Also you notice when the animal looks "sexy" on camera...it gets more attention as opposed to when the animal is just "ordinary" on camera.