Two finless porpoises died in five days. What exactly is the ＂black hand＂ underwater？

On November 7, a finless porpoise was found in the waters of Dongting Lake Bridge in Yueyang, Hunan. On the 11th, a finless porpoise body floated from Shunjiang, Hunan Province was found again in Hubei.

In just five days, two Yangtze finless porpoises known as "smiling angels" were found dead.

What happened behind the sad regret? Has the cause of death of finless porpoise been concluded?

On November 11th, in the Ruxita section of the Yangtze River, members of the scientific research team of fishery resources and environmental protection of the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences found a dead finless porpoise floating with the water more than 300 meters away from the river bank. The scientific research team members He Mingquan, Yan Hanlin and fishermen immediately salvaged it, called the police and took photos on the spot to collect evidence.

He Mingquan, a member of the on-site scientific research team of the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute: At first, I thought it was a water duck or something, and then I told the boatmaster that it was a finless porpoise, so we went to check the situation.

Yan Hanlin, a member of the on-site scientific research team of the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute: Five units came to the scene, including the finless porpoise association, the Yangtze River public security, the Yangtze River patrol, the Honghu fishery administration, and the Baiji dolphin reserve.

After the alarm, relevant departments came one after another. The dead finless porpoise was sent to the Institute of Aquatic Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, Hubei Province on the afternoon of the 11th. The reporter then came here for verification. The Aquatic Institute replied that due to various considerations, it did not agree with the reporter’s filming and it was inconvenient for the reporter to interview.

After repeated questioning by reporters, a staff member of the comprehensive office said that the autopsy and inspection of finless porpoises were carried out in the Baiji Dolphin Museum of the Institute of Aquatic Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The reporter also found the Baiji Dolphin Museum. Wang Kexiong, an expert here and a researcher at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, confirmed on the phone that the autopsy of the finless porpoise had been completed, but the details of the inspection report could not be said.

Reporter Jiang Shulin: According to the guidance of Dr. Wang Kexiong from the Aquatic Institute, we have now come to the bungalow behind the Aquatic Institute and found that these houses are all guarded by iron generals and can’t get in. As soon as I opened the window, a foul smell came to my nose. There is a stack of autopsy records by the window. It seems that the finless porpoise’s body should be dissected here.

Regarding the cause of death of finless porpoise, which everyone is most concerned about, Wang Kexiong said that only the client’s protected area can agree, and only the protected area has the most say.

The reporter had to travel hundreds of kilometers to find the protected area and finally got the autopsy report of the dead finless porpoise. The report shows that the dead finless porpoise is a young male, with a body length of 102 cm and a weight of 20 kg. He is about half a year old. There are obvious strangulation marks in many places such as the neck, back and throat, and the notches at the base of the front edge of the right flipper and the base of the tail stalk are deep.

Xiong Yuanhui, senior engineer of the management office of the Baiji Dolphin National Nature Reserve in Xinluo section of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province: It is initially suspected that it may have been drilled into the omentum and was strangled.

According to the report, this young porpoise was trapped in a fishing net and choked with water, causing a strong reaction and sudden death. The operator was afraid of being held accountable after discovering the dead porpoise by mistake, so he dumped the body and caused it to drift down the river.

In addition, on November 7, the finless porpoise that died in the waters of Dongting Lake Bridge in Yueyang, Hunan Province was also confirmed to have the same cause of death as this young finless porpoise, which was thrown into a fishing net and died. The difference is that the tail fin of the finless porpoise that died on the 7th was hung with two red bricks by nylon rope, and the body surface was slightly scratched.

Wang Kexiong, a researcher at the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences: It may be that he is evading a kind of responsibility, fearing being discovered and taking responsibility. It is this kind of psychology.

Xiong Yuanhui, senior engineer of the management office of Baiji Dolphin National Nature Reserve in Xinluo section of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province: The main problem is the supervision of the living waters of finless porpoises. In recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has started to implement the fishing ban in aquatic biological reserves, but the waters outside the aquatic biological reserves have not been closed, so it is necessary to strengthen the supervision of the waters outside the reserves.

(the original title is "heartache! Two finless porpoises died in 5 days! The reporter conducted a field investigation. What is the "black hand" underwater? 》）