守望江豚Guardians of Yangtze Finless Porpoises

楊河　李晶Yang He　Li Jing

長江江豚是中國特有的珍稀鯨類物種、國家一級重點保護野生動物，更是長江生態的“晴雨表”，被人們親切地稱為“水中大熊貓”。過去很多年間，在自然環境下江豚的身影已經很難看到了。然而，近幾年江豚的數量不斷增多，人們時常能看到它們在長江中自由自在地嬉戲玩耍?！靶兄灵L江邊，坐看江豚游”，可謂人生一大樂事。

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，是湖北的一名江豚攝影師，也是一名江豚“守望者”，他常年在長江邊攝影，觀察和記錄江豚的生活習性。通過他的鏡頭，我們可以清晰地看到長江大保護以后當地生態、環境的變化。

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.

與江豚的意外邂逅An Unexpected Encounter

2022年2月的一天，楊河在江邊攝影時突然發現一只江豚在水中不斷掙扎，原來是它的尾巴被繩子纏住了，而且越是掙扎，繩子勒得越緊。楊河趕緊向漁政部門求救，很快漁政救援隊伍就趕到了。與此同時，三峽海事局向事發地水域所有船只下達了緊急停航的調度令。經過多次嘗試和努力，救援人員終于靠近了這頭受困江豚。它，終于得救了。

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.

與江豚的不解緣分An Inexplicable Connection

在之后的拍攝中，楊河發現江豚非常有靈性，那只被解救的江豚似乎認識他這個“救命恩人”：幾乎每次去江邊，它都會出現在他的鏡頭里——尾巴上那道清晰的勒痕是它身份的標識。兩個月后的一天，楊河在江邊再次看到“老朋友”躍出水面迎接自己，他突然有種異樣的感覺：今天它好像有點不一樣？仔細觀察后他發現，“老朋友”的肚子大了，它懷孕了！再后來，江豚便經常帶著孩子來看他。每每說起這段往事，楊河總是又興奮又感動。他拍攝到了它們母子同游的照片，和我們人類一樣，江豚媽媽抱著自己的孩子，場面溫馨感人。

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.

在楊河的鏡頭下，我們還看到了戀愛中的江豚。秋天，是個浪漫的季節，秋高氣爽、景色宜人的宜昌水域對江豚來說也充滿了浪漫的氣息。江豚們紛紛“談起戀愛”，它們面帶微笑，成雙成對地躍出水面，幸福甜蜜；而那些單身江豚也不甘示弱，它們展現矯健的身姿，發出求偶的訊息。

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.

對江豚的科學解釋More Observations

由于多年來認真觀察并執著拍攝江豚，楊河這位江豚守望者對野生江豚的習性有了更多的了解。2023年上半年，宜昌長江段一共出生了兩頭小江豚。其中一頭又漂亮又機靈，應該是在6月9日前后出生的，志愿者團隊將其命名為“609”。在楊河眼中，江豚就是自己的孩子。他連續蹲守半個月，記錄下了這個新生命的點點滴滴：出生大約第八天的“609”體側出現了一朵漂亮的“白花”；在隨后幾天里，它身上出現了更多“花斑”，逐漸變成“斑點豚”；大約半個月后，這些白色斑點全部消失，它的皮膚變得光滑、圓潤。經科學家證實，這是長江江豚出生后所經歷的蛻皮（蛻去胎皮）過程，屬于正常的生理現象。江豚一般在出生后的第二周開始蛻皮，先是某些部位起泡、發白，然后鼓脹破口，很像一朵白花，再逐漸擴展到身體其他部位，直到自然脫落。

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，魚多了，江豚回來了。這一切，真好！”在說這句話時，楊河眼里散發出異樣的光彩。他用江豚逐浪的一幀幀美麗剪影向我們展示了長江水域的生態變化。

“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.

未來，我們一定能在這里看到更多優哉游哉的“微笑天使”！

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

供圖/ 楊河