WHILE governments and interest groups have been fighting over the future of the world’s great whales, some smaller cetaceans have been quietly heading towards extinction. Certain species, such as the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin, may not survive another decade, says a report from the World Conservation Union.
Conservation groups must broaden their focus to include these smaller species, says Randall Reeves, chair of the IUCN Cetacean Specialist group and co-author of the report. For example, anti-whaling organisations have long campaigned against Japan’s annual “scientific harvest” of 400 minke whales. But the International Whaling Commission believes there are at least…
