守望江豚Guardians of Yangtze Finless Porpoises

杨河　李晶Yang He　Li Jing

长江江豚是中国特有的珍稀鲸类物种、国家一级重点保护野生动物，更是长江生态的“晴雨表”，被人们亲切地称为“水中大熊猫”。过去很多年间，在自然环境下江豚的身影已经很难看到了。然而，近几年江豚的数量不断增多，人们时常能看到它们在长江中自由自在地嬉戏玩耍。“行至长江边，坐看江豚游”，可谓人生一大乐事。

The Yangtze finless porpoise （Neophocaenaasiaeorientalis） is an exceptional and rare freshwatercetacean found in China. As a nationally protected wildanimal at the highest level， its wellbeing serves as an“indicator” of the ecological condition of the YangtzeRiver. Affectionately known as the “panda in the water，”the porpoises in their natural habitat have becomeincreasingly rarely spotted in recent years. However，there has been a noticeable increase in its population，with frequent sightings of them playfully swimmingin the Yangtze River. It is considered a profound joy inlife to observe， on the banks of the Yangtze River， theseporpoises gracefully glide through the waters.

楊河，是湖北的一名江豚摄影师，也是一名江豚“守望者”，他常年在长江边摄影，观察和记录江豚的生活习性。通过他的镜头，我们可以清晰地看到长江大保护以后当地生态、环境的变化。

Hailing from Hubei Province， Yang He is both a photographer and a devoted guardian of the Yangtzefinless porpoises. Throughout the years， he dedicates himself to photographing， observing， and documentingthe porpoises behaviors. Through his lens， we gain a clear depiction of the changes occurring in the localecology and environment following the implementation of conservation measures for the Yangtze River.

与江豚的意外邂逅An Unexpected Encounter

2022年2月的一天，杨河在江边摄影时突然发现一只江豚在水中不断挣扎，原来是它的尾巴被绳子缠住了，而且越是挣扎，绳子勒得越紧。杨河赶紧向渔政部门求救，很快渔政救援队伍就赶到了。与此同时，三峡海事局向事发地水域所有船只下达了紧急停航的调度令。经过多次尝试和努力，救援人员终于靠近了这头受困江豚。它，终于得救了。

During one eventful day in February 2022， whilephotographing alongside the river， Yang He stumbledupon an entangled porpoise desperately strugglingin the water. It soon became evident that its tail hadbecome ensnared in a rope， which was tighteningits grip as the creature fought to free itself. Realizingthe urgency of the situation， Yang He immediatelycalled the local fisheries authority. The rescue teampromptly arrived， while the Three Gorges MaritimeBureau issued an emergency order for all vessels inthe area to halt navigation. After multiple attemptsand strenuous efforts， the rescue team successfullyliberated the trapped porpoise， ultimately saving itslife.

与江豚的不解缘分An Inexplicable Connection

在之后的拍摄中，杨河发现江豚非常有灵性，那只被解救的江豚似乎认识他这个“救命恩人”：几乎每次去江边，它都会出现在他的镜头里——尾巴上那道清晰的勒痕是它身份的标识。两个月后的一天，杨河在江边再次看到“老朋友”跃出水面迎接自己，他突然有种异样的感觉：今天它好像有点不一样？仔细观察后他发现，“老朋友”的肚子大了，它怀孕了！再后来，江豚便经常带着孩子来看他。每每说起这段往事，杨河总是又兴奋又感动。他拍摄到了它们母子同游的照片，和我们人类一样，江豚妈妈抱着自己的孩子，场面温馨感人。

Later， Yang He discovered that the porpoisesare a highly intelligent creature. The porpoise hehad rescued seemed to recognize him as its “savior.”Almost every time he went up to the river bank， itwould appear in his lens， the mark from the ropeall conspicuous on its tail. Two months later， YangHe once again witnessed his “old friend” leapingout of the water to greet him. But this time， apeculiar feeling struck him： She looks differenttoday！ Through careful observation， he noticedthat his “old friend” had a swollen belly — She waspregnant！ As time passed， Yang now has two friendswho he frequently sees， the porpoise and her child.Whenever he reminisces about this extraordinaryexperience， Yang He is filled with excitement andwould be moved to tears. From the heartwarmingpictures he took of the mother porpoise holding herchild while swimming together， we could see howthey resembled us humans.

在杨河的镜头下，我们还看到了恋爱中的江豚。秋天，是个浪漫的季节，秋高气爽、景色宜人的宜昌水域对江豚来说也充满了浪漫的气息。江豚们纷纷“谈起恋爱”，它们面带微笑，成双成对地跃出水面，幸福甜蜜；而那些单身江豚也不甘示弱，它们展现矫健的身姿，发出求偶的讯息。

Through Yang Hes lens， we also catch aglimpse of the porpoises in love. Autumn， a seasonof romance， lends a delightful atmosphere to thewaters of Yichang， which， in turn， becomes infusedwith a sense of budding love for the Yangtze finlessporpoises. During this time of year， we see theporpoises in love leaping out of the water in pairs，exuding happiness and sweetness， their faces adornedwith smiles. The ones who are yet single do not fallbehind， swimming up and down， displaying theiragility to send out messages of courtship.

对江豚的科学解释More Observations

由于多年来认真观察并执着拍摄江豚，杨河这位江豚守望者对野生江豚的习性有了更多的了解。2023年上半年，宜昌长江段一共出生了两头小江豚。其中一头又漂亮又机灵，应该是在6月9日前后出生的，志愿者团队将其命名为“609”。在杨河眼中，江豚就是自己的孩子。他连续蹲守半个月，记录下了这个新生命的点点滴滴：出生大约第八天的“609”体侧出现了一朵漂亮的“白花”；在随后几天里，它身上出现了更多“花斑”，逐渐变成“斑点豚”；大约半个月后，这些白色斑点全部消失，它的皮肤变得光滑、圆润。经科学家证实，这是长江江豚出生后所经历的蜕皮（蜕去胎皮）过程，属于正常的生理现象。江豚一般在出生后的第二周开始蜕皮，先是某些部位起泡、发白，然后鼓胀破口，很像一朵白花，再逐渐扩展到身体其他部位，直到自然脱落。

Through years of meticulous observation andpersistent photographing， Yang He as a porpoiseguardian has gained profound insight into thespecies habits. In the first half of 2023， two babyporpoises were born in the Yichang Section ofYangtze River. One of these particularly adorableand intelligent creatures was born around June9th， and became named “609” by the volunteers. InYang Hes eyes， the porpoise is like his own child.He spent half a month documenting every minutedetail of this new life： Approximately eight days afterbirth， “609” developed a beautiful “white flower”marking on its side. As the days went by， more andmore such spots appeared on its body， transformingit into a “spotted porpoise.” After about two weeks，these spots disappeared， leaving the skin smoothand taut. Scientists have confirmed that this processis the molting （shedding of fetal skin） phase thatevery Yangtze finless porpoise has to undergo afterbirth， which is a normal physiological phenomenon.Porpoises typically begin shedding their skin in thesecond week after birth. The “white flower” appearswhere the fetal skin first starts blistering and turningwhite， before gradually spreading to other parts ofthe body until all fetal skin naturally falls off.

“水清了，岸綠了，鱼多了，江豚回来了。这一切，真好！”在说这句话时，杨河眼里散发出异样的光彩。他用江豚逐浪的一帧帧美丽剪影向我们展示了长江水域的生态变化。

“The water has become clearer， the riverbanksare lush with greenery， fish populations haveincreased， and the Yangtze finless porpoises havemade a triumphant return. Its truly a marveloussight！” As Yang He expressed these sentiments， apeculiar radiance emanated from his eyes. Whilecapturing the leaps of the Yangtze finless porpoises，he certainly has also vividly captured the ecologicaltransformations of the Yangtze River region.

未来，我们一定能在这里看到更多优哉游哉的“微笑天使”！

In the times ahead， we can undoubtedlyanticipate an abundance of these “smiling angels”gracing this very place！

供图/ 杨河