Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) held its 16th Public Science Day on May 23, 2020. The event included a series of online activities that take the participants to have a visual tour of the CAS and the institutes under the CAS.

As one of the CAS institutes located in Wuhan, Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences live-streamed two trips to the platforms of IHB – Baiji Dolphinarium and the Museum of Hydrobiological Sciences.

As the tour guide, IHB Prof. WANG Kexiong, an expert of conservation biology of aquatic animals, introduced the lovely Yangtze finless porpoises and what the scientists have done to conserve them.

YU Bingfang, a staff working 45 years at the Baiji Dolphinarium, narrated several interesting behind-the-scene stories on the conservation of the porpoises. WANG Chaoqun, a porpoise trainer, explained the living habits and temper and personality of each porpoise.

The second half of the live broadcast was set in the Museum of Hydrobiological Sciences – Asia’s largest museum for aquatic organisms.

Viewers saw the specimen of Chinese sturgeon, Yangtze sturgeon and paddlefish, and learned two crafts of preserving specimens, taxidermy and liquid preservation.

In addition, the specimens of the endangered and endemic species of the Yangtze River as well as the 3D replica of Qiqi, a Baiji dolphin were on display for the viewers.

The Yangtze River basin region, harboring rich biological diversity, gives birth to life and nurtures us. Many creatures including the Baiji dolphin and Chinese paddlefish have probably left us; many other endemic species are on the verge of extinction. This science activity has brought us to know a variety of aquatic animals living in the Yangtze and trying to draw more attentions to the protection of the ecology of the Yangtze and the conservation of its endemic animals.

Scheduled each May since 2004, the Public Science Day is a large-scale science popularization activity launched by the CAS.

IHB Prof. WANG Kexiong, an expert of conservation biology of aquatic animals, introduced the lovely Yangtze finless porpoises and what the scientists have done to conserve them.

The second half of the live broadcast was set in the Museum of Hydrobiological Sciences – Asia’s largest museum for aquatic organisms.