by Xinhua writers Ma Yujie, Yu Pei, Tan Yuanbin, Rao Rao, Xiao Yijiu, Ji Xiaozhuang

-- The freshwater porpoise with no dorsal fin is native to China and has lived here for 25 million years. They are the only freshwater subspecies of the finless porpoise family and pulse through the middle and lower main streams of the Yangtze River.

-- Before 2015, only two to three finless porpoises had been spotted in the Yichang section, but scenes of the rare mammals popping out and gulping for air are becoming more common in recent years.

-- On Feb. 4, 2021, China revised its list of endangered wild animals, elevating the conservation of 65 types of wild animals, including the Yangtze finless porpoise, to the strictest level-one protection from second-highest.