The Yangtze finless porpoise is a delightful marine mammal that makes its home in China’s Yangtze River. The animal’s habitat has contracted by 90% over the last 1,400 years. Its range has seen a dramatic drop of 65%, with the greatest loss having taken place just within the last 100 years, as documented by recent studies. This charismatic species has an engaging face with a wide-shaped head that gives it the look that it’s always smiling. Yet it is now under serious threat from human activity and habitat destruction.
Once common across the entire Yangtze River, the porpoise’s range has shrunk drastically over time. Since the Tang Dynasty, it has shrunk by a further 33% of its original historic range. Within the tributaries and lakes that feed into the river, that loss is an appalling 91%. These losses are mainly the result of dam constructions that were initiated in the 1950s. They’ve done the opposite by catastrophically blocking the porpoises’ access to critical habitats.
The Cultural Significance of the Yangtze Finless Porpoise
That the Yangtze finless porpoise is indelibly marked on the Chinese cultural psyche. You can hear this relationship in its repeated use in early Greek poetry. Totally 724 poems from many historic collections all over China refer to this species. The Qing Dynasty (1636–1912 CE) was responsible for more than half of these, with 477 verses in honor of the finless porpoise. The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE) contributed a further 177 poems.
Zhigang Mei is an artist and scientist in honest pursuit of their thrilling intersection. He emphasizes the central importance of these literary works to this exploration. The bottom line is as a scientist, this work has caused me to reconsider the scientific merit of historical literature. Together, it taught us the transformative potential of cross-disciplinary collaboration. These kinds of insights are what cultural artifacts can offer as a way of contextualizing and understanding the ecological challenges we face today.
Mei pointed out that “Chinese poetry, this ancient art form, can be a serious scientific tool. Using the past to understand the present, ‘decoding’ the stories behind the art: it’s not just research; it’s like having a conversation with the poets of the past.” By looking through these poems, researchers can get a more clear picture of the finless porpoise’s shifting presence. This exploration is shedding new light on the species’ prehistoric history.
Human Impact and Habitat Loss
The story of this decline is closely tied to the large-scale, harmful changes humans have made to the porpoise’s habitat. Hydraulic engineering projects have especially undergirded this transformation. As a result of these projects, changes in water flow and salinity have since harmed the porpoise’s habitat. The construction of dams has been one of the worst offenders, physically separating populations and preventing them from migrating.
Mei highlights that “compared to fish, Yangtze finless porpoises are pretty big, and they’re active on the surface of the water, especially before thunderstorms when they’re really chasing after fish and jumping around.” This behavior puts them at greater risk as their habitats continue to grow more fragmented.
The habitat destruction impacts far more than just the finless porpoise. The other species of the Yangtze River, including the baiji dolphin and the Chinese paddlefish, have succumbed to functional extinction in recent decades. These extinctions are troubling harbingers of the current, ongoing ecological disaster impacting the river’s unique diversity.
A Call for Conservation and Cultural Reflection
Researchers such as Mei are advocating for a second wave of proposed conservation that integrates cultural legacy within the context. “Protecting nature isn’t just the responsibility of modern science; it’s deeply connected to our culture and history,” he asserted. This view opens the door for a bigger, broader, and deeper vision of environmental stewardship that respects scientific and cultural aspects of nature.
Art has a special ability to stir emotional reactions, encouraging society to reconsider its connection with the natural world. Mei notes that “art, like poetry, can really spark an emotional connection, making people realize the harmony and respect we should have between people and nature.” By developing this emotional connection through cultural representation, conservation efforts can achieve more widespread public support.
