Charles Hutzler of AP reports today that the rare white dolphin called the baiji, denizen of the Yangtze, is now extinct. Read more about this beautiful and now extinct creature at baiji.org.

I became interested in the baiji while traveling in China in 1998. At the time, there were about 15 baiji believed to be in existence. I was so taken by the baiji and its plight–its almost certain extinction as the Three Gorges Dam neared completion–that I devoted an entire chapter to it in my novel Dream of the Blue Room, which is set on the Yangtze River. The baiji appears in the final paragraph of the novel, when the narrator is beginning a return journey up the Yangtze in a small sampan. The boatman is searching for a baiji that he saw moments before:

The man kneels and watches, but the baiji does not return. Finally, he stands up, turns to me, and speaks. Although I can’t understand his words, I sense that he’s looking for some indication that I am tired of waiting for the phantom dolphin, some sign of impatience that tells him I think it’s time to move on. He looks back and forth from me to the river, awaiting my response. “I’m in no hurry,” I say, leaning back and resting my head on a bundle of clothing. Water slaps against our tiny boat. The man leans over the side of the sampan, his face close to the water, and then, shyly at first, he begins to call. It is a high-pitched, whining sound, almost a squeal. He looks back at me, laughing, beckoning me to join him. The sound is not easy to imitate, but I try. The afternoon passes in this manner, two strangers attempting with inadequate voices to raise something from the depths.