Good news from the Yangtze River "delivery room": this "mother" gave birth! The "baby" is so beautiful!

For many days in a row, a "great mother" has touched the hearts of countless netizens. "She" is a pregnant finless porpoise in the Jingjiang section of the Yangtze River!

In the video shot by netizen "Little Bear Can't Fly", the "expectant mother" of the Yangtze River porpoise slowly turned sideways in the river, and her big, round belly immediately appeared.

“Has it given birth?” “When will it be born?” “Is it picking a date?” “The whole internet is waiting for it to give birth” “Let’s name the baby porpoise National Day~”…

The mother porpoise was tossing and turning while waiting to give birth, which made netizens miss her very much.

On September 30, good news came. Netizen "Little Bear Can't Fly" posted a picture of a baby finless porpoise feeding. "It's born! It's born in one or two days." The baby finless porpoise has been born successfully!

According to the Yangtze River Jingjiang section porpoise survey team, four pairs of mother and baby porpoises have been observed in the Yangtze River Jingjiang section. On October 2, the Jingjiang City Media Center posted a message on the social media "Jingjiang Today" to collect names for the baby porpoises born around National Day. Netizens left comments in the comment area:

Wang Zhengfei, leader of the Yangtze River Porpoise Survey Team and vice president of the Wetland College of Yancheng Normal University, said, "In August this year, 16 porpoises appeared at the same time in the Jingjiang section of the Yangtze River." Since Jingjiang launched a survey of Yangtze River porpoises in 2021, the number of porpoises seen in August was the highest, including this pregnant porpoise mother. This fully demonstrates that the ecological environment of the Jingjiang section of the Yangtze River is improving year by year and fish resources have increased significantly .

The Yangtze River dolphin is an ancient and rare species unique to the Yangtze River. Because of its gentle temperament and the natural upward curve of its mouth that looks like a smile, it is called the "smiling angel"; it is not only the only aquatic mammal in the Yangtze River, but also the only freshwater dolphin in the world.

It is understood that female finless porpoises usually give birth in October, with one calf per litter. Before giving birth, females will show obvious changes, such as increased breathing rate and reduced food intake, and enlarged nipple and genital fissures.

The mother dolphin is very protective and caring of her young, and she will carry them on her back or carry them. During lactation, the mother dolphin and her young are in shallow water, and she lies sideways to lactate, with the young clinging to her abdomen, and each lactation lasts about 5 to 10 minutes.

Picture of mother and child porpoise swimming together

As the only cetacean species in the Yangtze River and a national first-class protected wild animal, the Yangtze River porpoise plays an important role in reflecting the status of the Yangtze River ecosystem . In recent years, the Yangtze River porpoise has become a "regular visitor".

This is a photo of a mother and her child finless porpoise taken by finless porpoise photography volunteers in Jingjiang City, Jiangsu Province on September 3 this year↓↓↓

In addition, photography enthusiasts near Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu have also photographed finless porpoises many times.

September 2020

Photography enthusiast Deng Yu recorded the figure of a finless porpoise swimming in the water on the surface of the Yangtze River in Changyinsha, Zhangjiagang.

February 2021

Photographer Wang Yongxiang captured a scene of a finless porpoise fishing in the Zhangjiagang section of the Yangtze River.

December 2022

The cute scene of a finless porpoise poking its head out of the water was captured by photography enthusiast Deng Yu

January 2023

Law enforcement officers from the Zhangjiagang Maritime Safety Administration recorded the scene of finless porpoises playing in the water in the Zhangjiagang section of the Yangtze River to welcome the New Year.

September 2023

Monitoring personnel from the Zhangjiagang Environmental Monitoring Station found a total of 12 finless porpoises in the Zhangjiagang section of the Yangtze River, setting a new record since monitoring began.

The frequent encounters with the "smiling angels" are a testimony to the continuous improvement of the environment. Let us look forward to more and more "good news" from the finless porpoise family!

Planning and production

Source: People's Daily, Dazhong Daily, Jingjiang Media Center, Ouli Zhangjiagang, CCTV News, etc.

Editor: He Tong

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin