Found only in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangzi, a habitat 1600 kilometers long, baiji have inspired poets, served as harbingers of rough weather for fishermen, and perplexed or eluded research scientists. That was at a time when there may have been as many as 5,000 baiji in the mainstem of the river, long before the needs of the human population began to place enormous pressures on the Yangtze ecosystem. Once considered by fishermen as a protective goddess of the Yangzi and cherished in ancient myths as a galloping white horse capable of flying across lakes and rivers carrying divinities on its back, there now may be fewer than fifty baiji left in existence. Today the Yangzi River basin is home to 12 percent of humanity. Riverside towns are rapidly growing into sprawling cities and industrial complexes as Beijing spreads the burgeoning wealth of China's prosperous eastern seaboard inland along the river to the rural heartland.
Dams block access to tributaries and lakes where baiji once caught fish and nurtured their young.
Expanding cities spew pollution and boat traffic into the river, exposing dolphin to toxic chemicals and the deafening noise of boat engines which confuses the animals, leaving them unable to navigate and avoid mortal collisions with propellers. Dynamite explosions from river dredging and bridge building have killed many dolphins. Fishing techniques using electric shock have electrocuted them. Deadly rolling hook lines which attract and snag fish along the river bottom have also snared and drowned baiji. Even if they can successfully avoid these common dangers and find enough to eat, their ability to establish and maintain social bonds has been compromised.