page_title: Wildlife of China
section_title: Baleen Whales
hierarchical_section_title: Wildlife of China / Mammals / Whales, dolphins, porpoises / Whales / Baleen Whales
caption_attribution_description: English: South Cape Light House 3.20.20"中文（台灣）‎: 明信片"大鯨引揚中"，戳記"鵝鑾鼻燈臺。
context_page_description: China's vast and diverse landscape is home to a profound variety and abundance of wildlife. As of one of 17 megadiverse countries in the world, China has, according to one measure, 7,516 species of vertebrates including 4,936 fish, 1,269 bird, 562 mammal, 403 reptile and 346 amphibian species. In terms of the number of species, China ranks third in the world in mammals, eighth in birds, seventh in reptiles and seventh in amphibians.
  Many species of animals are endemic to China, including the country's most famous wildlife species, the giant panda. In all, about one-sixth of mammal species and two-thirds of amphibian species in China are endemic to the country.
  Wildlife in China share habitat with and bear acute pressure from the world's largest population of humans. At least 840 species are threatened, vulnerable or in danger of local extinction in China, due mainly to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution and poaching for food, fur and ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine.
context_section_description: Right whales – Yellow Sea (especially adjacent to the island of Haiyang Dao where the junction of warmer and colder ocean currents exists nearby and all the modern appearances of the species on mainland coasts of China were concentrated), Shanghai and Zhoushan Islands, Guangdong and Huiyang, and in Taiwan Strait such as along coasts of Fujian (e.g.Pingtan Island), Penghu Islands, and Taiwan, and some reaching Hainan and Leizhou The first stranding of the species in China was on Shandong Province between 2000 and 2006. The first sighting in China was at Shenzhen in 2015 although the observation was reported as a humpback, and the first of living animal in Sea of Japan since after the whaling was recorded at Namhae near Busan in February 2015 and this was the first confirmation of the species since after the last record in Korean EEZ in 1974. Since 1901, records have been concentrated to the vicinity of Amami Ōshima including sightings in 1997 and 2014, and the first confirmed whale in west coast of Kyushu strayed into the port of Ushibuka, Kumamoto in 2014.
  Based on studies to indicate possible coastal forging grounds, wintering distributions quite possibly included areas along Zhejiang coasts as well. It is unknown whether or not there had been a population for this species to summer in Yellow and Bohai Sea prior to exploitations, however occurrences of copepods within the basins and geographical natures indicate some whales might have summered there.
  Gray and humpback whales – Yellow and Bohai Sea such as at Qingdao, Zhoushan Islands, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Nánpēng Islands, Liaonin, Fujian to south of Hailing Bay, Daya Bay, Hong Kong, Hainan, Qizhou Liedao Islands (humpback), Wailuo Harbour, Paracel Islands, and so on.
  Only about 130 gray whales survive today, but some recent studies indicate that the original Asian population might have been functionally extinct, and those whales seen on Sakhalin and Kamchatka could originate in the well-recovering eastern population. Fossil and catch records suggest there were once wintering/calving areas in Taiwan and adjacent areas. The most recent known record in Korean waters was the sighting of a pair off Bangeojin, Ulsan in 1977.
  In 2011, presences of gray whales were acoustically detected among pelagic waters in East China Sea between Chinese and Japanese waters.
  Quantities of historical catches of humpbacks on southern coasts of the nation were small hence it is difficult to detect the original population size before exploitations. There was once a well-established forging area in southern coasts along Bashi Channel around Kenting National Park or at southern coasts and islands of Taiwan like Xiaoliuqiu Island and Dapeng Bay. Today, their numbers being confirmed in these areas and along east coast of Taiwan are very small despite observation efforts conducted by whale-watching companies, understandably for mainland coasts. More than several sightings including of a cow-calf pair have occurred along east coasts of Taiwan. Whales were once abundant at least on Pingtung areas and sporadic individuals have been observed off east coasts and Hualien and at islands such as Green Island and Orchid Island. The first confirmations in Taiwan was in 1994 of a pair off Hualien, and successful fleeing from entanglement off Taitung in 1999. Since in 2000 when a whale was sighted around Orchid Island, sightings have been reported almost annually at the Green island and Orchid Island, however, relative short stays in these waters indicate recoveries as winter forging grounds has not occurred yet. There have been two documented sightings of humpback whales around Hong Kong in 2009 and 2016. Possibly the first confirmed sighting in Yellow Sea of three animals including a cow calf pair, was recorded off Changhai County in 2015. Very small numbers of whales are now migrating through Sea of Japan and Tsushima Strait, and further reaching Korean Peninsula.
  Based on studies on historical catches and observations, some gray whales could have occurred year-round off China, possibly summering in B
caption: Landed humpback whale on Nan Wan Bay nearby Cape Eluanbi in Hengchun during Japanese colonial days in 1920s
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