📅 May 7, 2025, Post 5: Of Poems and Porpoises: How Ancient Chinese Verses Illuminate Wildlife Decline | Target IAS-26 MCQs Attached: A complete Package, Dear Aspirants!
Of Poems and Porpoises: How Ancient Chinese Verses Illuminate Wildlife Decline
🔹 NEWS DROP — PETAL 005
📅 May 7, 2025
🎯 GS Paper 3 | Environment – Biodiversity, Conservation & Traditional Knowledge
🌀 Intro Whisper
In rivers once sung of in verse, silence now swims — the finless porpoise fades as history echoes through disappearing currents.
🔍 Key Highlights
- The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) is the only known freshwater porpoise species and is critically endangered.
- Chinese researchers used 1,400 years of classical poetry to map its historical distribution, finding 724 poems referencing the porpoise from Tang to Qing dynasties.
📜 Study Method & Findings
- Half the poems had specific location data, allowing scientists to reconstruct historical range maps.
- Results:
- 65% overall range contraction from Tang dynasty to present
- 91% loss in lakes & tributaries
- 33% reduction in main Yangtze River
⚠️ Drivers of Decline
- Human activity, especially dam construction (post-1950s), disrupted migration routes, fragmented habitats, and reduced porpoise populations.
🧬 Why This Study Matters
- Demonstrates how historical literature can offer ecological insights for long-term conservation.
- Shows that traditional art forms may preserve data lost to modern records.
- Supports the need for blended approaches combining science, culture, and history in wildlife conservation.
🧭 GS Paper Mapping
- GS3: Environment – Biodiversity, Conservation Strategies
- GS1: Culture – Ancient Literature as Knowledge Source
- GS3: Role of Technology & Traditional Knowledge
Target IAS-26: Daily MCQs :
📌 Prelims Practice MCQs
Topic:
🧠 Prelims MCQ (Type 4 – Direct Question)
Q. The Yangtze finless porpoise is best described as:
A) A saltwater dolphin native to the Pacific Ocean
B) A deep-sea fish recently discovered in South China Sea
C) A freshwater porpoise endemic to the Yangtze River and listed as critically endangered
D) A mythical aquatic species featured in Tang dynasty legends
🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation
✅ Correct Answer: C) A freshwater porpoise endemic to the Yangtze River and listed as critically endangered
🧠 Explanation:
• The Yangtze finless porpoise is a real, critically endangered freshwater species, endemic to China’s Yangtze River. It is not mythical or marine.
