The 'Baiji' that became extinct in 2006, was a species of which mammal?
Baiji of the river for fishing, transportation, and hydroelectricity. It has been credibly claimed, after surveys in the Yangtze River during the 1980s, that baiji could be the first dolphin species in history that humans have driven to extinction. A Conservation Action Plan for Cetaceans of the Yangtze River was approved by the Chinese Government in 2001. Efforts were made to conserve the species, but a late 2006 expedition failed to find any baiji in the river. Organizers declared the baiji functionally extinct. The baiji represents the first documented global extinction of a "megafaunal" vertebrate for over 50 years since the
Baiji "functionally extinct" on December 13, 2006, as fewer are likely to be alive than are needed to propagate the species. However, footage believed to be a baiji from August 2007 was released to the public. The Japanese sea lion and Caribbean monk seal disappeared in the 1950s, the last aquatic mammals to become extinct. Several land-based mammal species and subspecies have disappeared since then. If the baiji is now extinct, the vaquita has become the most endangered marine mammal species. Some scientists retain hope for the species: A report of the expedition was published online in the journal "Biology Letters"