The Yangtze River Tianezhou Baiji Dolphin National Nature Reserve, located in Shishou, Hubei Province, was established in 1992. After the baiji dolphin was declared functionally extinct in 2007, the reserve was mainly used to protect the Yangtze finless porpoise. Today, there are about 100 finless porpoises in the reserve. In recent years, the reserve has achieved the world's first successful breeding of finless porpoises in artificial cages, and the world's first ex-situ conservation of finless porpoises released into the Yangtze River, which is considered by experts at home and abroad as a successful model of ex-situ conservation of small cetaceans in the world. And behind these achievements, it is inseparable from one person - Ding Zeliang, a finless porpoise breeder in the reserve.
In the Yangtze River Ancient Road in the Tianezhou Nature Reserve, there is an area dedicated to cage finless porpoise farming. It was originally used for the rescue of finless porpoises, and later gradually used for scientific research and popularization of science related to finless porpoises. The person who was feeding the finless porpoise in the cage area was named Ding Zeliang, and everyone here called him Lao Ding. The 57-year-old has been a keeper for 16 years since the sanctuary began cage keeping finless porpoises in 2008. In the past 16 years, he has been with these finless porpoises almost every day. Now, he has developed a mature finless porpoise cage breeding program.
In 2008, the male finless porpoise was the first to enter the cage for rearing, and in 2008, the local area suffered a severe freezing disaster, when the finless porpoise was cut by broken ice and was rescued and brought into the cage to recuperate. In 2010, the female finless porpoise "E'e" came to the cage and lived with Tiantian. With the sexual maturity of the two finless porpoises, in May 2016, E'e successfully gave birth to a female cub "Beibei", which is also the world's first artificial cage breeding technology to produce a finless porpoise. In June 2020, E'e gave birth to a male cub again, which is cute.
Lao Ding said that he has a deep relationship with these finless porpoises, this feeling is not one-sided, but two-way, once, Lao Ding could not feed the finless porpoise because of temporary things, so he asked his wife and friends to help him feed the finless porpoise. As a result, the finless porpoise does not eat at all.
Ding Zeliang, keeper of the Baiji Dolphin National Nature Reserve in Tianezhou, Hubei Yangtze River: When I saw the dolphin, I didn't know it, but it was a living person. I ran over again and looked, and there was another living person. Another living person is there, and it will not eat it.
Lao Ding said that the reaction of the finless porpoise made him very worried, thinking that they might have to return to natural waters in the future, and it was not okay to not eat when they saw a living person. So I consciously let the finless porpoises meet more different people. Nowadays, the finless porpoises in the cages are no longer afraid of living people, and they eat fish when they should eat it, which makes Lao Ding very happy.
Looking at the finless porpoise swimming happily in the cage, Lao Ding's eyes were full of love. To him, these finless porpoises are like his children. After 16 years of getting along day and night, Ding Zeliang participated in the invention of two technologies, cage breeding finless porpoise breeding and cage finless porpoise breeding, both of which have obtained national invention patents. Lao Ding said that during the years of raising the finless porpoise, the most regrettable thing for him was the unfortunate death of the finless porpoise. In August 2020, E'e stopped eating because she was sick and her body was losing weight day by day. To make matters worse, Moe Moe, who was only two months old at the time. Without my mother's milk, I didn't learn to eat independently. During that time, Lao Ding stayed by these finless porpoises day and night.
Ding Zeliang, keeper of Baiji Dolphin National Nature Reserve in Tianezhou, Hubei Yangtze River: At that time, I was very anxious, after E'e had a problem, I was still worried about the baby dolphin, worried that if I lost my two lives, I said try to see if I can save Mengmeng.
Under Lao Ding's careful care, Mengmeng learned to eat by herself. Now he has grown into a big fat boy with a lively personality, which makes Lao Ding feel very gratified. Lao Ding said that his family has been local fishermen for generations. Since he was 15 years old, he has followed his fathers to fish in the old road of the Yangtze River in Tianezhou, which makes him have an inseparable affection for everything in the Yangtze River.
Ding Zeliang, keeper of the Baiji Dolphin National Nature Reserve in Tianezhou on the Yangtze River, Hubei Province: When I used to fish in the Yangtze River, I often saw finless porpoises and white-sided dolphins circling around our boat. Later, it was found that there were fewer and fewer finless porpoises and white-sided dolphins. According to experts, he said that the white-sided dolphin is extinct, and if it is not protected, the finless porpoise will disappear in the Yangtze River, just like the white-sided dolphin. At that time, I felt very regretful and pity, and I didn't want the finless porpoise to follow in the footsteps of the white-sided porpoise, and to come up with a little bit of strength to do something for the finless porpoise so that it would not become extinct.