Yangtze porpoises born in captivity to be released into the wild

(ECNS)--The Yangtze finless porpoise, the world's only freshwater finless porpoise species, is nicknamed the "aquatic panda" for its scarce population.

At Tian'ezhou National Nature Reserve in Central China's Hubei Province, a captive-born finless porpoise swims in a cage, occasionally leaping out of the water to breathe.

Ding Zeliang, 53, a feeder who has 10 years of experience, lives near the net cages.　

This is the second artificial finless porpoise for him, after the first one Beibei was released into the wild in July.

In 1990, five Yangtze finless porpoises were put into the reserve for breeding trials.

The number rose to over 60 in 2015 and is now more than 90.