OUP: Turvey: Witness to Extinction: How we Failed to Save the Yangt

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How we Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin

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Conservation of the Environment

The Natural World, Country Life & Pets

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New in Paperback

Witness to Extinction

How we Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin

Samuel Turvey

256 pages | 4pp black and white plate section | 196x129mm

978-0-19-954948-1 | Paperback | 13 August 2009

Also available as: Hardback

Price: £8.99

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The extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin or baiji, made famous by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine in Last Chance to See, made headline news around the world - the shocking realization that we had let such a beautiful animal disappear, despite the supposed efforts of big conservation organizations worldwide
Compelling, heartfelt eyewitness account by a young naturalist battling against the failures and bureaucracy of large organizations
Describes the natural history of the dolphin, and the legends surrounding it on the banks of the Yangtze
A tale, too, of how massive scale industrialization in China is devastating the environment and its extraordinary wildlife
Turvey played a key role in the final stages to identify whether the baiji was gone, and was the lead author in the research paper that confirmed its extinction
Gives examples of successful conservation and looks forward: we can learn from this and save other precious creatures from oblivion - a plea from the heart for action

The tragic recognition of the extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin or baiji in 2007 became a major news story and sent shockwaves around the world. It made a romantic story, for the baiji was a unique and beautiful creature that features in many Chinese legends and folk tales. The Goddess of the Yangtze, as it was known, was also the lone representative of an entire and ancient branch of the Tree of Life. But perhaps the greater tragedy is that its status as one of the world's most threatened mammals had been widely recognized, yet despite wide publicity virtually no international funds became available.

A compelling read by a young naturalist, Samuel Turvey tells the story of the plight of the Yangtze River Dolphin from his unique perspective as a conservation biologist deeply involved in the struggle to save the dolphin. This is both a celebration of a beautiful and remarkable animal that once graced one of China's greatest rivers, its natural history and its role as a cultural symbol; and also a personal, eyewitness account of the failures of policy and the struggle to get funds that led to its tragic demise. It is a true cautionary tale that we must learn from, for there are countless other threatened species that will suffer from the same human mistakes, and whose loss we shall not know until it is too late.

Readership: Lovers of natural history, conservation, and those connected with, or concerned about, endangered species. Also general readers of popular science.

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