China's white-flag dolphins may be extinct

Scientists in China are searching for the rare white-flag dolphin despite growing speculation that the cetacean is extinct.

By Space Daily Editorial Team · Editorial process

Published December 16, 2006 · Updated March 14, 2026

Scientists in China are searching for the rare white-flag dolphin despite growing speculation that the cetacean is extinct.

“We will try every effort to save them as long as it is not announced to be extinct,” said Wang Ding, head of the search team and vice director of the hydrobiology institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The dolphin is unique to China’s Yangtze River, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. If determined to be extinct, the white-flag dolphin will be the first cetacean on record to be driven to extinction by human activity like water pollution, as the dolphin has no natural enemy.

Currently, the white-flag dolphin is listed as one of the world’s 12 most endangered species, Xinhua said.

Written by

Space Daily Editorial Team

The Space Daily Editorial Team produces content across our two editorial pillars: space industry news and Mind & Meaning. We cover launches, missions, satellites, defense, and the technology of getting humans to space, alongside the psychology of ambition, isolation, and meaning under extremes. Articles reflect our team's collective editorial process, source verification, drafting, technical review, and editing, rather than a single writer's work. Space Daily takes editorial responsibility for content under this byline. For more on how we work, see our editorial policy.