The Yangtze river dolphin was thought to be extinct, a victim of China’s explosive economic growth and environmental negligence, but one of the baiji, as the animal is known, was just caught on tape — alive and well.

Largest Minority:

As reported last year, The Baiji was thought to be extinct after a six-week search for the dolphin turned up no sightings in the Yangtze River. Now recent eyewitness footage of the animal has given scientists and conservationists a sliver of hope. Unfortunately, the Baiji is still too few and too scattered to perpetuate the species unless the remaining individuals were somehow found and concentrated into a protected area of the river for breeding purposes. That actually seems to be the plan now.

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