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Yangtze dolphin 'functionally extinct' [ 2007-08-10 14:36 ] Download The long-threatened Yangtze River dolphin has been declared "functionally extinct" after an expedition late last year failed to find any, international researchers have said. Samuel Turvey, a conservation biologist with the Zoological Society of London who took part in the intensive six-week search, said no evidence was found of the freshwater dolphin, also known as the baiji, which was last spotted several years ago. He said the dolphin's demise - a result of over-fishing, pollution and lack of intervention - was a cautionary tale and should spur governments and scientists to act to save other species on the verge of extinction. "Ours is the first scientific study to have failed to find any," Turvey said in a telephone interview. "Even if there are a few left, we couldn't find them and therefore can't do anything to stop their extinction." The team, which published its findings in the Journal of the Royal Society's Biology Letters on Wednesday, included researchers from the United States, Britain, Japan and China. The research was authorized by the Chinese government, Turvey said. The last confirmed baiji sighting was in 2002, although there have been a handful of unconfirmed sightings since then, he said. The last baiji in captivity died in 2002, Turvey said. During the search, the team carried out both visual and acoustic surveys and used two boats to twice cover a 1,669-km stretch of the river from the city of Yichang, just downstream from the Three Gorges dam, to Shanghai. | 
