When do dolphins heat up?

Some people say that the Yangtze baiji dolphin, which has lived on the earth for 25 million years, is too old. This species, like dinosaurs, will be extinct sooner or later. However, experts believe that the baiji is not too old to survive, but because of human interference, it has accelerated the speed of extinction. Similar species of baiji live in the Amazon, Ganges and Red Rivers. At 6 o'clock in the morning of July 14, 2002, the researchers from the Institute of Aquatic Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences came to Baigong, one of the four remaining freshwater dolphins in the world, as usual. The work record of the previous day said: feed at night and eat normally. At 8 o'clock, when the staff walked into the "White Mansion" again, they found Qiqi lying motionless underwater. The baiji dolphin is an aquatic mammal. It breathes with its lungs. It couldn't get up several times and choked to death. Qiqi has been dead for three years. For more than three years, people who care about Qiqi have missed it. About 20 million years ago, the baiji left the ocean and entered the Yangtze River. It only lives in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China. Although its popularity is far less than that of the giant panda, its life span is only 5-6 million years, which is worse than that of the baiji. In 200 BC, the description of baiji appeared in Erya. At that time, it was estimated that there were more than 5,000 baiji. Nowadays, there are less than 100 baiji known as the "goddess of the Yangtze River". Today, the number of Amazon dolphins is as high as100000. The number of constant puffer fish and red puffer fish is also more than 2000, and there is an increasing trend. The story of Qiqi's body being made into a specimen, the internal organs are soaked in formalin, and the DNA is preserved forever. Qiqi is a male baiji dolphin. He was only two years old when he was accidentally caught by fishermen at the mouth of Dongting Lake on June1980+1October 12. There are two deep holes in its neck, which were left when it was hooked ashore by a big iron hook until it died. After leaving the Yangtze River, Qiqi lived in a pool in a big house built for him by the Institute of Aquatic Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. People nicknamed it "White Mansion". Like human beings, baiji are all mammals, so it is similar to our human diseases. 1996, Qiqi suffered from very serious liver necrosis. For a month, she ate nothing. The scientist bought a big fish, took out the thorn, pulped the meat and mixed it with water, hoping to save her life. At that time, the news alarmed the international zoological community, and experts from all over the world made suggestions and tried their best to do it. After four months of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine treatment, Qiqi recovered. March-June is the estrus of baiji every year. Scientists from the Fisheries Research Institute of China Academy of Sciences have been trying to find a "bride" for the baiji. 1986, a baiji was once captured and named "Pearl Krabs". At first, scientists did not put them together, but put them in two pools with an aisle and water in the middle. Two dolphins can exchange information in it. At first, both dolphins were nervous and didn't eat. Later, I walked slowly up the aisle. You look at me, and I look at you, as if watching each other. The staff put a hydrophone between them, which can collect signals under water. As a result, they really found many signals. One of them is the voice of mutual communication. One morning, scientists found Pearl Krabs swimming in Qiqi's swimming pool. When it first swam in, Qiqi was so nervous that he turned around in a small place and ignored Pearl Krabs. This lasted for two or three days, and they gradually became familiar with it. Unfortunately, at that time, Pearl Krabs was not sexually mature and had no ability to mate. Pearl Krabs was arrested together with Pearl Krabs's father. When Pearl Krabs was arrested for the first time, he was not used to the artificial breeding environment and didn't eat. For several days, he didn't have the strength to swim out of the water to breathe. Even though he was on a hunger strike, he tried his best to lift Pearl Krabs's head out of the water and let it breathe to avoid suffocation. Many years later, scientists from the Fisheries Research Institute are still saying that the scene was really touching. In the state of artificial breeding, after living for a few days, Pearl Krabs failed to "get married" with Qiqi and died, leaving Qiqi alone in the "empty room". I met Qiqi for the third time in May 2000. On the same day, volunteers from Green Home 15 rushed to Wuhan from Beijing to participate in the large-scale exhibition of Baiji Dolphin to protect the Yangtze River and save water. As soon as we got off the train, we went straight to Bai Mansion. I haven't seen Qiqi for almost two years. Has it changed? In the "white mansion", Qiqi, 22, originally swam quietly in the water. When she saw us, she suddenly accelerated her swimming speed. When we approached the railing by the pool, her tail jumped out of the water and splashed all over us. Just when we didn't know whether it was surprise, accident or joy, Qiqi's unique way of welcoming was repeated. Qiqi is so lonely, I look forward to someone to see it, and maybe even more to our old friends. Zhang Xianfeng, an expert on baiji dolphin, told us that every May and June, when Qiqi enters estrus, its silver-gray body will not only turn a little red, but also make a cry that is rarely heard at ordinary times. Just as we stared at it, something unexpected happened. Qiqi clung to the pool, kept rubbing his body against the concrete wall by the pool, and then rolled back into the water. Qiqi, who always swims with her abdomen down, has her abdomen up, and the pink genital tip keeps extending upward at the lower abdomen, two inches, four inches and six inches, until it is more than a foot long. When her body swims in the water, her genitals float back and forth. Haven't come back, we continue to stare at Qiqi. It swam to the concrete wall next to us again and rubbed it away. This time, when it turned over again, the genitals were longer and the bloodshot color was thicker than when it first came out. Wang, a 6-year-old volunteer, pointed to Qiqi's genitals and asked me, "What is that?" ? He obviously heard what we adults just blurted out. Zhang Xianfeng thought for a moment and answered him: The reproductive organs are used to give birth to dolphins. Wang immediately said that the next time he came to see Qiqi, it would be nice if she could have a baby dolphin. On that day, we learned from Zhang Xianfeng that baiji has a special way of eating. There are two seams on the skin of the female dolphin near the reproductive organs in the lower abdomen, which are called cleavage. Usually, both breasts are hidden inside, and the nipple protrudes from the cleavage when breastfeeding. The small white fin dolphin must bite the nipple in a very short time. The mother dolphin's breast is squeezed and the milk is sprayed into the baby dolphin's mouth. Then mom will swim out of the water to breathe, and then go back to feed the second bite. Chen Han's wish didn't come true. On July 14, 2002, I received an email with the subject of "Big Bad News", which was written by Zhang Xianfeng. He told me Qiqi had left. A month later, I took advantage of a business trip to Wuhan and walked into the "White Mansion". "People go to the house." Nine months ago, Zhang Xianfeng told me that since journalists and volunteers paid attention to the baiji and called for protecting the Yangtze River water and cherishing the baiji in newspapers, primary and middle school students in Wuhan often went there to learn about Qiqi's living habits and learn how to protect its home. Every time a pupil comes, he counts the frequency of Qiqi swimming out of the water to breathe. Later, he wrote in his composition: Qiqi swam out of the water and breathed five times a minute. There are so many big ships in the Yangtze River, how dangerous it is to live there! Standing by the empty pool, Zhang Xianfeng also told me: In recent years, Qiqi's signs of aging are obvious, and his food intake has also decreased. In the past day, she had to eat 8 to 9 kilograms of fish, but in the last year, she ate almost 5 or 6 kilograms, and her food intake was reduced by nearly half, so she obviously couldn't catch fish. In order to ensure that it eats live fish, the breeder cuts off the gills of the live fish with scissors. The fish is still alive, but it can't swim fast, so Qiqi can catch it. Qiqi's aging is also manifested in smooth teeth and increased neck wrinkles, just like people's old skin, wrinkled and baggy. Then there is weight loss and obvious emaciation. At 8: 25 on July 14, 2002, scientists from the Fisheries Institute arrived at the "White Mansion" one after another. The water in the pool was full at that time. After more than two hours, the water drained and Qiqi was carried up. It was hot and the water temperature was 25 degrees. Qiqi's body is not cold, her joints are not stiff, flexible and still soft. There were two opinions at that time. One is Qiqi's great contribution to our research work. She is not an ordinary animal, but everyone's partner and friend. According to China's traditional custom, she should not touch it and keep it intact. Another view is that Qiqi has contributed to the scientific research and protection of Baiji dolphin for more than 20 years, and its internal organs should be studied from a rational point of view. Zhang Xianfeng said that he finally found a balance between reason and emotion, and took out Qiqi's internal organs, which were preserved at ultra-low temperature according to the needs of research work, and the large organs were preserved in formalin. The shape of the body is peeled off by the method of making specimens in general mammals, and then the shape is restored. A few years later, I asked Dr. Wang Ding, deputy director of the Institute of Aquatic Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, whether there were fewer tourists in the "White Mansion" after Qiqi's death. Doctor Wang said, "There are finless porpoises there. We are not open to the public here, but some environmental education programs are carried out, and students can come. Qiqi's death certainly has a great impact on our scientific research. " "What did you do after Qiqi's death? In addition to making its body into a specimen and soaking its internal organs in formalin, DNA will stay forever. What else can I do? " Dr. Wang said: "We made a database of Kiki's fingerprints, but failed to preserve its living cells, because it was too hot at that time, and the cells died shortly after Kiki's death and were not preserved. We made a DNA fingerprint database, hoping to keep its genetic information. At present, we have assisted the government and the Ministry of Agriculture in formulating the enclosure protection plan for the baiji. This is very difficult, but it is the last hope, otherwise we will lose the baiji forever. "