We heard about this from the IWC two months but it sure is sad to hve it confirmed.
As the article says:
“The Yangtze river dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20m years ago. This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life.”
A consensus resolution by the IWC about the Vaquita (now the most endangered small cetacean in the world following the extinction of the Baiji) noted that ‘The Baiji experience shows that extinction can happen rapidly and without evidence of a steady or prolonged decline, if appropriate conservation actions are not taken promptly.’.
A sad day indeed.
