"'Ki Qi' sank to the bottom of the water motionless,
It's like falling asleep. ”
Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
(Abbreviated as "Aquatic Institute")
Researcher Zhang Xianfeng so far
I still remember that scene 20 years ago
On June 20, 2002, the reporter took a photo of the physical examination of "Qiqi" in the Baiqi Dolphin Pavilion, and did not expect that this was the last physical examination of "Qiqi". Photo by reporter Gao Baoyan
The world's only successful captive-reared baiji dolphin has lived in Han for more than 20 years
At about 8:00 a.m. on July 14, 2002, the world's only successful captive breeding of baiqi dolphin "Qi Qi" left alone in Wuhan due to aging. This is the last live white dolphin humans have seen so far.
On April 2, 2002, "Qi Qi" took the last "standard photo" before his death. Photo by Zhang Xianfeng, a researcher at the Institute of Aquatic Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
The baiji dolphin living in the Yangtze River is a small freshwater whale unique to the mainland, known as the "Goddess of the Yangtze River". In the 1980s, there were still more than 400 baiji dolphins in the Yangtze River, and now they are "functionally extinct".
In January 1980, the Institute of Aquatic Sciences transported an injured baiji dolphin to Wuhan, and the late Wu Xianwen, one of the founders of Chinese ichthyology and aquatic biology and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was "so excited that he hugged a grandson." This is what became "Ki Ki".
The memorial stone "Ki Stone" commemorating "Ki Ki". Photo by reporter Li Ziyun
From infancy, middle age to old age, "Qiqi" has always lived in the Aquatic Institute Baiji Dolphin Pavilion. After the death of "Qiqi", the Aquatic Institute received more than 50 condolence letters from home and abroad.
As the first front-line scientific researcher to appear after the death of "Qiqi", Zhang Xianfeng mentioned "Qiqi" for a long time that he was unwilling to use words such as "death" and "death", and at most he used "gone".
During the period of "Qi Qi" in the Aquatic Institute, several small partners were successively welcomed: "Rong Rong", "Lian Lian", "Zhen Zhen"... Unfortunately, these baiji dolphins have died one after another.
"Ki Ki" was made into a 3D specimen
A 3D specimen of "Ki Ki" on display at the Museum of the Institute of Aquatic Sciences. Photo by reporter Li Ziyun
On July 13, a reporter from the Yangtze River Daily saw a 3D specimen of "Qiqi" at the Museum of the Institute of Aquatic Sciences. Careful observation revealed that the 1:1 replica of the "Ki Qi" before his life was a 3D specimen with two scars on its neck from being scratched by a fishing boat hook.
Wang Kexiong, a researcher at the Institute of Aquatic Sciences, began to raise "Qiqi" after graduating from university in 1984. After the death of "Qiqi", what he was most worried about was whether the finless porpoise would "re-walk" the old path of the white dolphin?
"Smiling Angel" porpoises appear frequently on the surface of the river
In 1996, the Baiji Dolphin House of the Institute of Aquatic Sciences began to raise the Yangtze River porpoise, a close neighbor of the Baiji Dolphin. "The Common Home of the Yangtze River Finless Porpoise and the White Whistling Dolphin are in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the food they eat is similar, but there are some differences in size." Wang Kexiong introduced.
On May 10, 2021, on the riverside of Yichang City, Hubei Province, Yangtze River porpoises frolicked in the water. Photo by Xiao Yijiu, Xinhua News Agency
Finless porpoises are regarded as a barometer of the ecological health of the Mother River of the Yangtze River. Nine finless porpoise nature reserves have been established along the Yangtze River. This past June was the "National Dolphin Love Month" initiated by the Wuhan White Dolphin Conservation Foundation.
According to incomplete statistics, the finless porpoise, which has become a national-level protected wild animal, has appeared more than 20 times and nearly 180 times in the Wuhan section of the Yangtze River since 2020 alone.
Yangtze River porpoises frolick in the water on the edge of the river in Yichang City, Hubei Province, May 11, 2021 (drone photo). Photo by Xiao Yijiu, Xinhua News Agency
"Newborn porpoises and family groups play in the middle of the river", "porpoises reappear in the waters of the Yangtze River", "Groups of porpoises playing with the waves on the river"... Not only the Wuhan river section, Yichang, Wuhu, Nanjing, Nantong and other river sections, finless porpoises also frequently appear on the river surface.
Zhai Qing, vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said at a press conference held by the Information Office of the State Council on July 6 that the ecological and environmental protection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has undergone a turning point, and the "smiling angel" porpoise has appeared in groups.
Finless porpoises living in the same home are much "luckier" than white dolphins. "Under the situation of great protection of the Yangtze River, it is foreseeable that in the near future, ordinary citizens will have more and more opportunities to see finless porpoises." Wang Kexiong is full of confidence in this.
Wuchang south of the mountain under a road specially named white catfish. Photo by reporter Li Ziyun
Produced by The Yangtze River Daily: Reporter Li Yuying, Chen Jie, correspondent Sun Hui
Source: Yangtze River Daily