Have you ever seen this dolphin? If not, it's understandable because it is almost, if not already, extinct. This Yangtze River Dolphin was rescued in 1980 and died in 2002. This is the last dolphin of it's kind that has been seen, when it was photographed. The Yangtze River Dolphin was declared functionally extince in 2006, and that means that even if there are animals of this species still out there, they might not be healthy enough to breed enough to save there population from permanent exinction.
Researchers searched the habitat of this rare creature with a hydromphone to listen for clicks and whistles but nothing was heard. The place to look for these dolphins, if they are still around is in the Yangtze River, which is the third longest river in the world.
It is thought that this dolphin is on the verge of distinction, if not already, is by them being captured in fisheries( nets and hooks), getting hit by boat propellers, and pollution. If this dolphin does indeed, go extinct it will be the first large marine mammal to go extinct since the Caribbean monk seal, which was last seen in the 1950's.
This article relates to environmental science because it might not seem evident to us, because the exinction of this animal does not affect us directly, but because of the human population, animals are dying at a fast rate, a rate in which can not be reversed. The pollution we as humans are putting into the air is effecting and killing animals all around the world, little by little, and it is sad to see that a complete species of animals has to die for us to see it. I hope that this is a good thing though and it opens up many people's eyes to see what is happening around the world, and how we need to fix it before it gets worse.
