Several finless porpoises were spotted on the morning of June 13 near the bank of the Yangtze River in Taicang, Jiangsu province.

Five to six finless porpoises swam around in and leapt out of the river for about half an hour, according to law enforcement officers of the Taicang Maritime safety administration, who first noticed them.

The Yangtze River finless porpoise is the only fresh water subspecies of the finless porpoise family.

The species, which is only found in the middle and lower main streams of the Yangtze River, has been living on the earth for 25 million years, but its population has been greatly reduced by human activities.

The number of finless porpoises in the Yangtze River is only around 1,000. China has listed the marine mammal as a second-class nationally protected endangered species.

The Taicang Maritime safety administration closely monitors its water area environment at all times to maintain ecological balance.