Wuhan, China - A research expedition underway on the Yangtze is looking to discover how many of the world's only freshwater finless porpoises can be found in the river - and how to save the remaining population from extinction. It is concentrated in the eastern Indo-Pacific region and can be found from Pakistan to Korea, Japan, Borneo and Java. asiaorientalis (Yangtze River population) and N.a. Prior to 2006, the river was home to two different species of dolphins, but the Baiji dolphin was declared functionally extinct in 2006. Dolphin vs. Porpoise Intelligence. Classified as Endangered, a 2006 survey estimated the population of this freshwater sub-species at just 1,200-1,400. In a bid to save the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise, the Chinese government is capturing a small group of the animals and relocating them to a secure conservation area. The Yangtze River subspecies of narrow-ridged finless porpoise shared its habitat with another cetacean, the Baiji dolphin, until the … There are 2 subspecies of Narrow-Ridged Finless Porpoise, N.a. These porpoises live off the coast of East China, as well as in the Yellow Sea around the Korean Peninsula. The Yangtze finless porpoise is important in many ways. The Yangtze finless porpoise, which inhabits the high-traffic waters near the Three Gorges Dam in China, is highly endangered, with only about 1,000 animals alive today. Such glimpses of the shy Yangtze finless porpoise, the only aquatic mammal left in China's longest river and known in Chinese as the "smiling angel" for its perma-grin, are increasingly rare. The Yangtze River Finless Porpoise is found in the coastal waters & rivers of Southeast Asia. Search. The Yangtze finless porpoise will eat what is available in it’s location. Having lived on earth for over 25 million years, the Yangtze finless porpoise with its iconic smile is now predicted … Generally it is solitary or in a mother-offspring group. The Yangtze finless porpoise is found in the main Yangtze river channel in central and eastern China, and in two lakes, naturally connected to the river, in the central Yangtze - Dongting and Poyang. The porpoise are native to Asia’s Yangtze River. The finless porpoise is the only porpoise species that can live in freshwater. Some of these groups (mainly near Japan) are migratory. Nicknamed “river pig” by some locals, the Yangtze finless porpoise in ancient Chinese paintings was depicted with a pig face and a fish body. sunameri (East Asian Finless Porpoise). The Finless Porpoise is also in danger of becoming extinct. Swimmers bump into critically endangered finless porpoises in China's Yangtze River. Such glimpses of the shy Yangtze finless porpoise, the only aquatic mammal left in China's longest river and known in Chinese as the "smiling angel" for its perma-grin, are increasingly rare. Depending on it’s habitat, different porpoises eat different seafood. ... Swimmers spot rare finless porpoise along Yangtze … The IWC Scientific Committee recently highlighted the dire situation of the Yangtze finless porpoise which, without additional conservation efforts by the Chinese government, may follow the baiji to extinction in this heavily industrialized, densely populated river system. The Yangtze porpoises can be found in fresh water along the coastline of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, and they live only in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and some associated lakes. Finless porpoises live alone or in small groups and eat crustaceans, fish, and squid. It is found in coastal waters Southeast and East Asia, with a sub-species, N. p. asiaeorientalis, found in the Yangtze River and its adjacent lake systems. Porpoises can act in a coordinated fashion even when they are hundreds of feet apart, using echolocation for finding prey and staying together in a pod, but do not use it to communicate as often as dolphins do. After its more-storied cousin, the Baiji dolphin, was declared "functionally extinct" in 2007 in the same waters, the finless porpoise is thus believed to be the Yangtze's last surviving mammal Yangtze Finless Porpoise. Long River is … YANGTZE FINLESS PORPOISE Yangtze finless porpoises live in small groups of up to ten individuals.