The weather in Quanzhou on August 5th.

The chinese white dolphin - sousa chinensis

Sousa China (Osback, 1765)

Taxonomically, Chinese white dolphins belong to Chordata, Vertebrate Subdivision, Mammals, Whales, Toothed Whales, Dolphins, and the English name is indo-pacific humpback dolphin. National first-class protection of animals. The body length is 220-250 cm and the weight is 250-235 kg. The body is round and presents a beautiful streamlined posture. Eyes are black and shiny, with 32-36 conical teeth on both sides of the upper and lower jaws, and sparse dentition. The snout is narrow and sharp, long and less than one tenth of the body length. The beak and forehead are clearly separated by a V-shaped groove. There are relatively few vertebrae and the vertebral body is long. There are five fingers on the flippers. The whole body is milky white or ivory, with many tiny gray-black spots scattered on the back and some abdomen slightly pink. The dorsal fin is short, the pectoral fin is thin and round, and the symmetrical triangular caudal fin is almost reddish brown-gray.

Distribution of Chinese white dolphins

Chinese white dolphin is a tropical and subtropical species living near the coast, and also swims in the harbors and estuaries of the inland sea. Its distribution range is from the Cape of Good Hope to the north along the east coast of Africa, to the Red Sea, the mouth of Suez Canal, the Arabian Gulf, the Persian Gulf and the coastal waters of Indonesia, Australia and Guinea.

Habits of Chinese white dolphins

Chinese white dolphins do not integrate into large groups, usually 3-5 together, or act alone. Lively temperament, in sunny weather, often jumping and frolicking on the water, sometimes even jumping out of the water near 1 meter high. Swimming speed is very fast, sometimes reaching more than 12 nautical miles per hour. Breathing intervals are very irregular, sometimes 3-5 seconds, sometimes 10-20 seconds, sometimes 1-2 minutes or more. They mainly feed on fish, including the larvae of Cephalotaxus and Epinephelus, and also eat small yellow snapper and small pomfret. It eats a lot, and the weight of food in its stomach can reach more than 7 kilograms.

Chinese white dolphins mainly mate in water from June to July every year. The pregnant period of females is about 65,438+00 months, and their cubs are born in March-April of the following year. The tail of the calf, sir. The head is finally exposed. The length of the newborn is about 100 cm, which is about13 of that of the female. The back is gray-black, the abdomen is white and pink, the teeth are not exposed, and there are more than 10 sensory hairs on the snout. The lactation period is about 1 year. At this time, all the hair falls off and the teeth grow out completely, reaching sexual maturity in 2 13 years. Life expectancy is generally 25-35 years old.

Chinese White Dolphin and the Return of Hong Kong

The Chinese white dolphin was also chosen as the mascot of 1997 to celebrate the return of Hong Kong. At the ceremony to celebrate the establishment of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the emblem of the large-scale Committee hung on the rostrum was particularly eye-catching: a lively and lovely Chinese white dolphin was jumping and playing on the waves, with five-star bauhinia in the middle and Chinese and English names in the outer circle. The composition of the emblem reflects the joy of Hong Kong people's longing to return: the waves have both round waves and long ripples, symbolizing joy and celebration, while the bauhinia with red background and white flowers is located between the Chinese white dolphins and the waves, showing the hearts of Hong Kong people.

The Chinese White Dolphin was chosen as the mascot to welcome the return to China because of its special symbolic significance. First of all, Chinese white dolphins have a deep relationship with Hong Kong. In the western waters of Hong Kong, especially in the areas of Lung Kwu Chau and Sha Chau, groups of Chinese white dolphins can often be seen. Chinese white dolphin is a precious animal in the ocean, and Hong Kong is an important port city, which cannot be separated from the ocean. Secondly, the Chinese white dolphin has the word "China" in its name. Every year, Chinese white dolphins swim back to the Pearl River Delta and other places to breed their offspring. They have the quality of not forgetting and loving their homeland. As an inseparable part of China, Hong Kong should return to the motherland. Thirdly, Chinese white dolphins like to live in groups and have a strong sense of family attachment. In particular, females take good care of their young. When their young are caught near the fishing net because they are greedy for small fish that have been online, the females will wander around the fishing net impatiently, looking for ways to save their young, and even risk their lives to attack the fishing net to save their young. Their feelings are very touching. It is these characteristics that express Hong Kong people's desire to return to the embrace of the motherland.

The special status of Chinese white dolphins in the return of Hong Kong has also played a positive role in wildlife protection. In order to protect the Chinese white dolphins, the Hong Kong government first set up a marine park reserve in the waters of Lung Kwu Chau. On the occasion of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Hong Kong established the "Chinese White Dolphin Resource Center", which was initiated and organized by some environmental groups to save the Chinese white dolphins. According to the survey, there are about 60-80 Chinese white dolphins in Hong Kong waters. In recent years, more than 65,438+00 dolphins die every year due to water quality changes. After the establishment of the organization, various measures will be taken to purify the water quality in the living area of Chinese white dolphins, balance the ecological environment and provide good living conditions for Chinese white dolphins. At the same time, extensive publicity activities will be carried out to let more people know about the bad situation faced by Chinese white dolphins and attract more people to participate in the rescue operation.

Correspondingly, in August of 1997, a nature reserve with a total area of 5,500 hectares was established in Xiamen, Fujian, one of the main habitats of Chinese white dolphins. On June 65438+1October 1 1 day of the same year, the Xiamen Municipal Government issued the Regulations on the Protection of Chinese White Dolphin in Xiamen, and jointly undertook the obligation to protect this rare "national treasure at sea" with Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, which are adjacent to Xiamen. Chinese white dolphins are the only national first-class protected animals in Xiamen, and they are called "Mazu fish" and "real harbor fish", because this is also the time when a large number of Chinese white dolphins appear in Xiamen waters during the spring sacrifice to the sacred "Mazu", and whenever they appear, the sea is always calm, so fishermen used to burn incense and kowtow for protection when working at sea. However, in recent years, the original number of ordinary Chinese white dolphins has obviously decreased due to the reasons of embankment construction, capture and accidental capture, and lack of ecological protection in marine engineering construction.