The Yangtze finless porpoise, also known as the river dolphin, is an extremely endangered species under the highest level of national protection in China. The mammals, which mainly live in the Yangtze River, are facing grave threats to their habitats because of water pollution and other destructive human activities. Today there are just some 1,000 of them left alive in the world. After quite a bit of soul searching, the provinces along the Yangtze River are finally waking up to the imminent threat of extinction of the species and are working to save the river dolphin.