There was nothing cute about the Chinese paddlefish. Its most notable features were its length, which could exceed 3 meters, and a long, elephant-like snout. Nonetheless, it was often called the "Giant Panda of the Rivers" in recognition of its rarity.
Unlike the endangered bear, however, the Chinese paddlefish never enjoyed a significant effort to preserve it or its habitat. So, over the years, overfishing, pollution and dam-building reduced its numbers. As recently as the 1970s, fishermen harvested 25 tons of Chinese paddlefish from the Yangtze River. By the 1990s, almost none remained. The last official sighting in the wild was in 2003, and just as 2019 turned to 2020, scientists made it official: The Chinese paddlefish is extinct.
Of the estimated 8 million animal and plant species on Earth, about 1 million are threatened with extinction. The problem in China, with its rapidly developing economy and urbanizing population, has been particularly acute. Since 1970, almost half of China's terrestrial animals have vanished. The Yangtze River, a key fishery and former home to the Chinese paddlefish, is so dead that President Xi Jinping has said it has reached a "no fish" level. Meanwhile, consumer demand for wildlife products, like tiger-skin rugs or bear bile for medicinal use, is responsible for a boom in the trafficking of endangered species.
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