Dedicated family provides safety net for protected dolphins

Pan Wenshi, a renowned biologist and professor at Peking University's School of Life Sciences, has been dedicated to the conservation of precious wildlife such as giant pandas and white-headed langurs since the 1980s.

Guided by the villagers, Pan Wenshi observed the white dolphins in Sanniang Bay. It was this that led him and his family to move to the area permanently in 2005 to begin efforts to protect the white dolphins.

"That year, my father saw a severely injured young dolphin that must have previously been entangled with fishing nets and whose body was injured and scarred. When he later discovered the dolphin had survived the ordeal, he named it Qinqin, with the first character of the name representing the city Qinzhou," Pan Yue said.

The survival rate for young dolphins is less than 50 percent, she said, with most dying due to factors such as congenital developmental issues and natural disasters.

Typically, out of 10 newborn dolphins, only three or four survive.

What is truly inspiring is that Qinqin, despite her severe injuries, not only survived but also gave birth to three calves over the next 20 years. When Pan Yue and her husband Zhao Yi go out to sea, Qinqin and her family members often frolic around their boat.

As they learn more about white dolphins, the villagers of Sanniang Bay have grown fonder of their long-standing neighbors.