manqiangrexue
Brigadier
It's likely extinct, with the definition of being extinct as having not been definitively seen in over 50 years. There was a recent video in 2024 of a possible sighting which appeared to show backfins leering out of the water, distinguishing them from the finless porpoise (although it could have just been the tails at an odd angle).
Previous to that, there was a possible sighting in 2018:
The last captive specimen and absolutely confirmed individual died in 2002; it was rescued as a baby and thus survived for over 2 decades in captivity. Babies are highly adaptable and greatly valued in the pet trade for exotic species because they adapt well. The biggest reason that captive conservation efforts to rescue the Baiji failed is that adult specimens caught from the wild have a very hard time adjusting to captivity and usually die in under a year without breeding.
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