The city's Yangtze banks have been focus of conservation efforts, green development

A volunteer at the Nanjing Finless Porpoise Conservation Association, surnamed Wu, was overwhelmed with joy to see "Panda Eye" — the nickname of a finless porpoise with black birthmarks around both eyes — emerge in Jiajiang River in the city's Jianye district in early March.

"It caught my attention 10 years ago because it loves to jump and is more active than most other porpoises," said Wu. "I didn't expect to see it again 10 years later."

He added that he saw "Panda Eye" near the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in January 2013. But now the living area of the porpoises and its family members has expanded significantly from Pukou district to Jianye district thanks to the efforts made by local environmental protection and fisheries administration departments.

The number of finless porpoises now stands at 62 in the capital city of Jiangsu province, living in four families separately. The number increased by nearly 24 percent from 2017 to 2023.

What makes the volunteers even happier was that they observed 11 cubs recently in the Yangtze's Nanjing section, which might indicate that the number of the species will keep increasing.

The finless porpoise is the only remaining freshwater dolphin in the Yangtze River after the Baiji dolphin was declared functionally extinct in 2006.

Though the Yangtze's Nanjing section is one of the species' most important habitats, the porpoises never showed up in the city's Jianye district due to their high demand for water quality.

After years of efforts to improve ecology, the water quality of the Yangtze's Jianye section has been bettered. Not only has it become a water supply source for local residents, but the finless porpoises have chosen it as a breeding site.

"The increasing number of the species and their expanding living area have showed that the country's conservation efforts and the 10-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River have turned out to be fruitful," said Wu.

Nanjing is the only city along the Yangtze River where finless porpoises can be observed in the downtown area. To better promote environmental responsibility, the Nanjing Finless Porpoise Conservation Association has set up two observation stations in Jianye district to attract more people to observe and protect the "giant panda of the water".

Jiang Meng, secretary-general of the association, said that the observation stations allow visitors to closely observe the finless porpoises playing and jumping out of the water.

"We hold the 'Finless Porpoise Charity Run' in Jianye district every year and try to call for more people to participate in the conservation of the porpoises," said Jiang.

The district has also established the Nanjing Yangtze River Finless Porpoise Science and Education Center, which is open to the public for free. It also organizes a series of activities every year to raise public awareness, especially young people's awareness of the conservation of the Yangtze and habitat biodiversity.