"When we got down to the water’s edge at Finless Porpoise Bay, the little finless porpoise 'Jiji' came to welcome the volunteers, nodding, vocalizing, and playing in the water for everyone to see." Yesterday, a netizen named "Traveler" posted a video taken on January 1, 2012, on the "Ezhou Timezone" website. In the video, an energetic little finless porpoise swam wagging its head and tail towards the shore, prompting netizens to exclaim, "So adorable!"
The finless porpoise "family of three" is not shy
According to this "Traveler," there is a "family of three" finless porpoises that frequently appear in the Longwangji waters of the Ezhou section of the Yangtze River. The hikers affectionately call them "Longlong," "Queen," and "Jiji." Netizens have also given this Yangtze River bay a soap-opera-style name: "Finless Porpoise Bay."
Nowadays, "Finless Porpoise Bay" has become a hiking hotspot for Ezhou hikers, and the hikers have also become environmental volunteers. Every New Year's Day, a grassroots hiking and environmental protection group called "Walking in All Directions" spontaneously goes there to pick up trash. "The Yangtze River is the home of the finless porpoises. Now they are on the brink of extinction, and we hope that we humans can give them back a good living environment," the leader of "Walking in All Directions," "Traveler," told reporters.
Ezhou’s Yanji Town is ten kilometers from the city center. The riverbank features a protruding rock called "Longwangji," and there is a seasonal sandbar in the middle of the river. Between the sandbar and the Yangtze River embankment lies what netizens commonly call "Finless Porpoise Bay." This area is not part of the Yangtze River’s shipping channel and has only a few fishing boats.
"Longlong," "Queen," and "Jiji" play there all year round." In the past 2011, "Traveler" organized a total of six volunteer hiking activities, starting from Wuchang Gate in Ezhou City, walking along the river for two and a half hours while picking up trash along the way. Each time, the volunteers could see this "family of three" playing in the river, happily interacting—not only were they not wary of people, but they were also particularly close. "The closest distance was just two meters. They swam over on their own, and the sound of them surfacing for air was very clear, as if they were deliberately teasing us," "Traveler" explained.
Expert: Wild finless porpoises generally do not get close to humans
It is relatively rare for wild finless porpoises to get close to humans, "but it’s also a good phenomenon," Dr. Wang Kexiong from the Institute of Hydrobiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who has long been engaged in research on finless porpoises, told reporters.
"From the Ezhou to Huangshi and Wuxue sections of the Yangtze River, in recent years it has gradually become a hotspot for finless porpoise sightings. One reason is that the river is wide, offering a larger water area," Dr. Wang speculated. Due to the impact of the Three Gorges Dam’s water storage, the water in the upstream Jingjiang River section has also become clearer than before. "Clear water means fewer fish," and with no food, the fish have migrated downstream. The finless porpoises, which follow their food sources, have also left their former homes.
"The mouth of Dongting Lake has always been a habitat for finless porpoises, but the sand dredging boats in Dongting Lake have damaged the natural environment, which is also one of the reasons for the porpoises’ migration," Dr. Wang said.
In the first half of 2011, there were frequent reports from netizens in the Wuxue section of the river about sightings of finless porpoises, with some even chasing boats and riding the waves. Meanwhile, our reporter visited the Jingjiang River section of the Yangtze River at the end of February and did not see any finless porpoises at the Chenglingji, Honghu, Jianli, and Shishou riverbanks near the mouth of Dongting Lake. Many local fishermen also reported that the "river pigs," once known as the fishermen’s "weather forecast," have become very rare.
The Institute of Hydrobiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences released an investigation report this year confirming that the population of Yangtze finless porpoises is now fewer than that of the "national treasure" giant panda, and implementing protection measures in their living waters is also very difficult.
In recent years, news of abnormal deaths of finless porpoises has been repeatedly reported, most of which were caused by ship propellers.
What does the future hold for "Finless Porpoise Bay"?
Changes in the environment along Longwangji have made volunteers start to worry about the future of "Finless Porpoise Bay." "Ponds have been filled in, there are more and more sand-dredging boats, and industrial wastewater is being discharged into the Yangtze River," "Traveler" said.
During this year’s New Year’s Day hike, the volunteers only saw one little finless porpoise wandering around in "Finless Porpoise Bay." Although it was still as lively and adorable as ever, it inevitably raised concerns about the fate of the species. Some volunteers even speculated whether its "siblings" had "met with misfortune."
The volunteers asked around along the way, and a young man monitoring the navigation channel from a boat told them, "There really are several finless porpoises that often appear in this area." "It was when he said 'several' that we finally breathed a sigh of relief," "Traveler" said.
In 2008, "Traveler" was the first to discover that finless porpoises were frequently playing in the Longwangji area. According to local media reports, at their peak, more than 20 of them were seen "out on an excursion" together—a rare sight in many years.
Every year, "Traveler" leads volunteers to "Finless Porpoise Bay," but each time he comes, he feels a faint sense of worry because the changes along the Yangtze River are astonishing, and every change always brings environmental alterations.
Therefore, the volunteers are calling on the government to take measures to create a truly "livable" space for this endangered species.
