Rare white dolphin declared extinct

[j d worthington]

Another that I thought some might want to know about:

Rare white dolphin declared as extinct - Yahoo! News

The story is by Charles Hutzler, from Dec. 13, 2006

BEIJING - A rare, nearly blind white dolphin that survived for millions of years is effectively extinct, an international expedition declared Wednesday after ending a fruitless six-week search of its Yangtze River habitat.

The baiji would be the first large aquatic mammal driven to extinction since hunting and overfishing killed off the Caribbean monk seal in the 1950s.

The baiji dates back 20 million years. Chinese called it the "goddess of the Yangtze." For China, its disappearance symbolizes how unbridled economic growth is changing the country's environment irreparably, some environmentalists say.

 

[Foxbat]

Yet again the world pays the price for our folly. Losing any species is a real shame but something that has survived so long is doubly so.

 

[RyFrye]

It's a shame....

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

While there has no doubt been massive changes in China and I'm sure the Yangtze has been the site of many an illegal dump, I have to play devil's advocate a little here and say that animals which are limited to specific geographical locations are always going to be under threat if they cannot adapt to changing conditions. I'm not sure whether this is a case of "willful" extinction like whaling (hunting etc) or the much more common "by-product" extinctions (such as the destruction or alterations of habitats by human activity). I've created those terms myself by the way - not sure if there's already more appropriate ones out there.
So yes it's sad, and the destruction of any species is a tragedy, but some animals just die out. A cursory glance through the fossil record will show lots of creatures that aren't here anymore either.
With the exception of a few high profile examples (Blue Whales/Tigers/White Rhinos and, of course, the Dodo) and a couple of others, I think that sometimes humans overestimate their impact when it comes to animal extinctions. It's arrogant to assume that we are the sole cause of their demise and the sole solution. Breeding programmes, wildlife sanctuaries, nature preserves and moratoriums on hunting help but even with a completely "green footprint" which is highly unlikely to ever happen, some animals will become extinct as they struggle to adapt/compete with other animals for resources.

 

[j d worthington]

With the exception of a few high profile examples (Blue Whales/Tigers/White Rhinos and, of course, the Dodo) and a couple of others, I think that sometimes humans overestimate their impact when it comes to animal extinctions. It's arrogant to assume that we are the sole cause of their demise and the sole solution. Breeding programmes, wildlife sanctuaries, nature preserves and moratoriums on hunting help but even with a completely "green footprint" which is highly unlikely to ever happen, some animals will become extinct as they struggle to adapt/compete with other animals for resources.

While I agree that there will always be "natural" extinctions, if you will, the fact that these have been around for 20 million years, plus the factors cited in the story, tend to indicate we're responsible, just as we're apparently making it difficult for several species of crocodile to survive (the global warming apparently putting temperatures just out of that small range that allows the production of males rather than females); I also posed a series of links on what's happening to the Arctic and, if some of that's true, we're having a horrendous impact on several things there ... the fact that the ice is, for the first time, retreating at the rate of well over a kilometer per year (and that impact on, for example, seals and polar bears) makes me gravely wonder about our role in any modern extinctions unless proven otherwise....

 

[Spartan27]

Another that I thought some might want to know about:

Rare white dolphin declared as extinct - Yahoo! News

The story is by Charles Hutzler, from Dec. 13, 2006

J.D....the chinese have over fished for years and they are still currently doing so. In fact they have the largest fishing fleet in the world!!!! Not only that but there are ecological truces (no fishing zones) which they have broken time and time again. Now they are going after all species of whales (even the protected ones). But nothing is being done about it either....I guess I forgot that I must be politically correct....sorry

 

[j d worthington]

J.D....the chinese have over fished for years and they are still currently doing so. In fact they have the largest fishing fleet in the world!!!! Not only that but there are ecological truces (no fishing zones) which they have broken time and time again. Now they are going after all species of whales (even the protected ones). But nothing is being done about it either....I guess I forgot that I must be politically correct....sorry

Eh? I'm afraid I don't quite follow that last bit... As far as guilt for their extinction goes, I see nothing in the story that indicates the Chinese are not guilty and someone else is ... rather, that this is another extinction to be laid at the door of humanity -- specifically that branch of humanity in the area. So, I'm not quite sure (aside from venting anger about their behavior) what exactly to make of the post, unless it's simply a confirmation of blame. In which case ... I don't think you'd get much of an argument.....

 

[Whitestar]

It's a terrible tragedy. We human beings do not deserve to live on this planet because we'll only end up killing everything other living thing on it, including ourselves. Still, I'd like to think there is a ray of hope for the extinct while dolphin through cloning/genetic engineering.

 

[Spartan27]

Eh? I'm afraid I don't quite follow that last bit... As far as guilt for their extinction goes, I see nothing in the story that indicates the Chinese are not guilty and someone else is ... rather, that this is another extinction to be laid at the door of humanity -- specifically that branch of humanity in the area. So, I'm not quite sure (aside from venting anger about their behavior) what exactly to make of the post, unless it's simply a confirmation of blame. In which case ... I don't think you'd get much of an argument.....

JD...correct!