The number of finless porpoises in Nanjing section of the Yangtze River is about 62, an increase of 24% compared with 2017.

Nanbao. com

On December 28th, Nanjing held a press conference to report the results of background investigation on biodiversity in Nanjing and its protection. The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) learned from the press conference that there are about 62 Yangtze finless porpoises in Nanjing Yangtze finless porpoises provincial nature reserve, an increase of 24% compared with 2017, accounting for 10.4% of the total number of Yangtze finless porpoises in the main stream.

The Yangtze finless porpoise is the only existing cetacean animal in the Yangtze River, a national first-class protected wild animal, and also a "barometer" of the Yangtze River ecology. According to Zhang Ruizhong, a first-class researcher of Nanjing Greening and Landscape Bureau, in order to protect the Yangtze finless porpoise and its habitat, the Jiangsu provincial government approved the establishment of Nanjing Yangtze finless porpoise provincial nature reserve in 2014. The nature reserve starts from Xinshengzhou, Jiangning District in the west, adjacent to Maanshan City, Anhui Province, and extends to Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in the east, covering the range of finless porpoises in Nanjing section of the Yangtze River, with a total length of 44.8 kilometers and a planned total area of 86.92 square kilometers.

In 2022, the latest scientific research on finless porpoises in the whole Yangtze River basin and the investigation of background resources in the nature reserve showed that the number of finless porpoises in the nature reserve was about 62, accounting for 10.4% of the total number of finless porpoises in the main stream of the Yangtze River, and half of the total number of finless porpoises in Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River, which was one of the sections with the highest distribution density of finless porpoises in the whole main stream of the Yangtze River, with an increase of 24% compared with the scientific research data in 2017. The Yangtze finless porpoises in the nature reserve are clustered, mainly distributed in the waters near Qianzhou, Dashengguan Yangtze River Bridge and Zihuizhou.

Since October, 2021, Nanjing Bureau of Ecology and Environment has organized the first city-wide background survey of biodiversity in the city, and a total of 3,672 species have been recorded. Among them, a small Metasequoia glyptostroboides tree and the largest population in the world urban environment were found at the base of the Ming wall of Xuanwu Lake, and the largest Taxus mairei population known to be naturally regenerated in urban forests in China was found under the deciduous broad-leaved forest at the southern foot of Zijinshan Mountain.