The rare white dolphin native to China's Yangtze River that scientists officially declared extinct recently has apparently been spotted swimming in the wild.

After surviving for millions of years the baiji dolphin was declared effectively extinct in December 2006 after a fruitless six-week search of its Yangtze River habitat. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that a man in the central province of Anhui saw and shot footage of a "big white animal" in the Yangtze River on August 19. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has confirmed that the animal in the footage was a baiji dolphin.

Researchers agree that there is the possibility they may have missed one or two animals on the last expedition. Around 400 baiji dolphins were believed to be living in the Yangtze in the early 1980s with the figures dropping to just 13 animals in 1997.