Eco-agencies hope changes will save the Yangtze finless porpoise

While recent moves to protect the endangered Yangtze finless porpoise, a rare freshwater mammal, have produced some positive results, many concerns remain.

"The number declined by double digits every year between 2006 and 2012, so the best hope is to first slow the rapid decline, and then gradually reverse the situation," said Zhu Jiang, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature's Yangtze River biodiversity conservation project.

The Yangtze finless porpoise, the only mammal in the river, is considered rarer than the giant panda, and although it is at the top of the river's food chain, it is threatened with extinction.