Smiling at danger, China’s finless porpoise fights to survive Known in Chinese as the "smiling angel", the shy Yangtze finless porpoise is one of the country's scarcest animals. Pollution, overfishing, hydroelectric dams and shipping traffic have left the unique creatures far worse off than China's best-known symbol of animal conservation, the panda. But growing environmental awareness in China means there could be hope to save them from extinction.