Yangtze Finless Porpoise

The Yangtze finless porpoise is a species of toothed whale in the porpoise family, endemic to the Yangtze River in China, making it the country's only known freshwater cetacean since the likely extinction of the baiji, a freshwater dolphin also once native to the Yangtze. It is considered critically endangered, with only about 1,426 individuals estimated to remain as of 2026, threatened by illegal fishing, pollution, boat traffic and dam construction, though a 2026 report by China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs found the population had grown by 177 since 2022 following a ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River implemented in 2021.