The Yangtze finless porpoise is both charming and intelligent. It even appears to have a permanent smile on its face. Unfortunately, the porpoise, which is native to China, is critically endangered due to habitat loss. Thanks to over 700 Ancient Chinese poems, experts can now accurately map the decline of the porpoise.
The poems date back nearly 2,000 years, spanning multiple dynasties. Since then, the Yangtze finless porpoise, which calls the Yangtze River its home, has lost more than half of its habitat.
“We’re connecting 2,000 years of Chinese culture with biodiversity,” said study author Zhigang Mei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who grew up alongside the Yangtze River, revering the porpoises, in a press release. “Our work fills the gap between the super long-term information we get from fossils and DNA and the recent population surveys. It really shows how powerful it can be to combine art and biodiversity conservation.”
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The Smiling Yangtze Finless Porpoise Poems
To better understand how the porpoises’ habitat has changed over the years, an interdisciplinary research team analyzed 724 Ancient Chinese poems from across centuries that mention the porpoise. The results, published in Current Biology, indicated that over the last 1,400 years, the porpoise had lost about 65 percent of its habitat, with most of the decline occurring in the last 100 years.
The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world. It stretches for 2,236 miles and has historically been a crucial source of travel and commerce. It may have also been a muse for some ancient poets, such as Qianlong, the emperor of the Qing dynasty, according to the release. So it’s highly likely that these poets often witnessed these porpoises.
“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,” said Mei in a press release. “This amazing sight was hard for poets to ignore.”
As the team reviewed the poems, the oldest dating back to the year 618, they found that the porpoises were referenced hundreds of times. It was evident that the Ancient Chinese had a deep connection with the finless porpoises, which has carried on to today.
According to the press release, Mei learned from his community elders that the porpoises were akin to spirits and that they helped predict the weather and fish levels. Harming them was seen as bad luck. They used to live in almost every part of the Yangtze.
One of the challenges the team faced was deciphering the ancient poet’s writing style. While some focused on realism, others were more metaphorical. The team had to analyze each poet's body of work to fully understand their style, for the sake of the study’s accuracy.
From there, the team compared the more accurate porpoise references with the assumed geographical sightings to create a chronological order. According to the study, the Qing Dynasty (1636 C.E. to 1912 C.E.) had 477 poems that mentioned the finless porpoise, the Ming Dynasty (1368 C.E. to 1644 C.E.) had 177 poems, the Yuan Dynasty (1271 C.E. to 1368 C.E.) had 27, the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279) had 38, and the Tang Dynasty (618 C.E. to 907 C.E.) had the remaining five poems.
From here, the team determined that the sharpest porpoise habitat decline occurred during the last century, between the Qing Dynasty and today. Since the Tang Dynasty, the finless porpoises’ range decreased by 33 percent, while their range into the lakes and tributaries around the Yangtze decreased by 91 percent.
Human Activity and Nature
This correlates with other data suggesting that the porpoise, along with other animals that call the Yangtze home, have declined likely due to human activity that altered the river.
“Protecting nature isn’t just the responsibility of modern science; it’s also deeply connected to our culture and history,” said Mei in a press release. “Art, like poetry, can really spark an emotional connection, making people realize the harmony and respect we should have between people and nature.”
The team is continuing to look into the past to better understand how they can help the Yangtze finless porpoise in the future.
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Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Natural History Museum. Critically Endangered Yangtze finless porpoise shows signs of recovery
Current Biology. Range contraction of the Yangtze finless porpoise inferred from classic Chinese poems
A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.
