Overview

• The Yangtze finless porpoise, the world's only freshwater porpoise, is critically endangered with fewer than 1,100 individuals remaining in the wild.
• Researchers analyzed 724 ancient Chinese poems dating back to the Tang Dynasty to reconstruct the species' historical distribution and habitat range.
• The porpoise's habitat has contracted by 65% over 1,400 years, including a 33% loss in the main river and a 91% loss in tributaries and lakes.
• Human-driven factors, such as dam construction and land development, have fragmented habitats and blocked migration corridors, accelerating the species' decline in the past century.
• Published in *Current Biology*, the study highlights the potential of cultural heritage, like poetry, as a valuable tool for long-term biodiversity conservation.