Yangtze river: species

Qiqi, the only captive Yangtze River dolphin (<i>Lipotes vexillifer</i>), which died in the Centre in July 2002. Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

Qiqi, the only captive Yangtze River dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer), which died in the Centre in July 2002. Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
© Chinese Academy of Science

200 species of fish, 84 species of mammals, 87 species of reptiles...

China's 2 largest freshwater lakes, Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, together with the Yangtze floodplain, provide habitat for about 300 species of birds, including endangered migrants like cranes and storks.

The Central Yangtze River and Lakes are known to be an important wintering and stopover site for large numbers of migratory birds, including an estimated 95% of the world's Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus ) population.

The region is known to support 200 species of fish, more than 84 species of mammals, 60 species of amphibians, and 87 species of reptiles.

Some of the creatures that occur here are extremely rare such as the Yangtze alligator (Alligator sinensis) and the Yangtze River dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer), both of which are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.

The Yangtze is also home to the world's only freshwater-adapted porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), although its numbers are rapidly dwindling.