Sturgeon returning to the Yangtze River
China Daily |
Updated: 2026-06-19 10:05
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In a meandering stretch of the upper Yangtze River in Jiang'an county of Yibin, Sichuan province, a remarkable chapter is unfolding for the Yangtze sturgeon.
The Yangtze sturgeon, one of the oldest vertebrates on Earth, lived alongside the dinosaurs.
Endemic to China's Yangtze River, it is classified as a nationally protected first-class wild animal, once mainly found in the river's upper reaches and tributaries.
But because overfishing and habitat degradation took a heavy toll, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the Yangtze sturgeon extinct in the wild in July 2022.
