700 trained Chinese sturgeons released into Yangtze

China's first batch of 700 Chinese sturgeons trained for rewilding was released into the Yangtze River on Saturday in a bid to boost the population of the endangered species sometimes referred to as the "aquatic panda".

The captive-bred sturgeons were sent into the wild in Yichang, Hubei province, by the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute of China Three Gorges Corp.

"Before their release, the sturgeons were trained in pools that simulated the environment of the wild. And they have two major tasks - catching live food and swimming upstream," said Li Zhiyuan, deputy director of the institute.