Two male Yangtze finless porpoises released into the wild are believed to be in good health and may have integrated into a local population, according to the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The two porpoises, both about five years old, from Tian'ezhou National Nature Reserve in Shishou, Hubei province, were trained for two years in another section of the Yangtze River so they would be able to hunt and avoid ships. They were released in April.

Besides monitoring the animals, researchers also confirmed that these two were not among the dead ones that were found recently. The pair are believed to be alive and healthy.

If the release experiment proves successful, Chinese scientists will try the same approach with more endangered porpoises to help save the species.