China's white-flag dolphins may be extinct

FLORA AND FAUNA

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by staff writers
Wuhan, China (UPI) Dec 17, 2006
Scientists in China are searching for the rare white-flag dolphin despite growing speculation that the cetacean is extinct.

"We will try every effort to save them as long as it is not announced to be extinct," said Wang Ding, head of the search team and vice director of the hydrobiology institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The dolphin is unique to China's Yangtze River, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. If determined to be extinct, the white-flag dolphin will be the first cetacean on record to be driven to extinction by human activity like water pollution, as the dolphin has no natural enemy.

Currently, the white-flag dolphin is listed as one of the world's 12 most endangered species, Xinhua said.

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