I for one will be declaring a period of mourning. I had not been paying attention to this issue. It is really sad and should be a wake up call to the world. Tomorrow I will be distributing info on this species to my students.
While we all love the warm fuzzies (as us invert zoo guys call some verts) it is important to keep in mind that for every large mammal or bird or reptile or amphibian that is lost forever there are orders of magnitudes of fishes, invertebrates, plants, fungi, bacteria etc. being lost at an alarming rate. Most of these will go unnoticed as they haven't been discovered or described yet. This is not a creo/evo issue, whether you believe they were created 6000 years ago or evolved over billions of years we should all shed a tear for the passing of a species. Cetacean biologists in China have fought for this one for over four decades (at least) with virtually no international support (understanding the role of politics and economics).
Wanda: To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people. I've known sheep who could outwit you. I've worn dresses with higher IQs, but you think you're an intellectual, don't you, ape?
Otto: Apes don't read philosophy.
Wanda: Yes they do, Otto, they just don't understand it.
"A Fish Called Wanda"