As many of you probably already know, the baiji, the Yangtze River Dolphin, has been declared extinct.

Say it with me, O humanity — “Well, we sure fucked that one up…”

My first exposure to the baiji came from reading Douglas Adam’s brilliant Last Chance to See over a decade ago. Today, both Adams and the baiji have passed on into whatever darkness lies at the end of all roads. The baiji outlived the author by probably only a year or two, and the world is a great deal less for having lost them.