Video of a Yangtze River finless porpoise spitting huge columns of water has gone viral in the last 24 hours, putting a bit of a dent in the carefully-branded image that has in recent years seen it become better known as a smiling porpoise.
过去24小时内，一段长江江豚吐出巨大水柱的视频在网上疯传，这对近年来江豚精心打造的“微笑江豚”形象造成了一些影响。
It was actually 13:00 on 26 February when the odd sighting took place, in the Sanjiangying area in the Yangzhou section of the Yangtze River.
事实上，这一奇怪的目击事件发生在2月26日中午13点，地点是长江扬州段的三江营地区。
There, Ma Jianjun, Assistant President of the Yangzhou Finless Porpoise Conservation Association, was together with volunteers, undertaking porpoise observations using a drone.
现场，扬州江豚保护协会会长助理马建军与志愿者一起，用无人机进行江豚观测。
The viral video, which can be seen via this link, reveals the feisty finless porpoise in action. Swimming on its back and accompanied by another, the porpoise repeated spits column of water from its mouth which are up to half the length of its entire body.
这段病毒视频可以通过此链接观看，展示了活泼的江豚的活动。江豚仰面游动，在另一只江豚的陪伴下，嘴里不断吐出足有其身长一半的水柱。
Two possible explanations were offered by an expert from the Institute of Aquatics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as the Yangtze Evening News reports.
据扬子晚报报道，中国科学院水生研究所的一位专家给出了两种可能的解释。
The porpoises may just be enjoying themselves, playing in the water after foraging for food, for example. Or, they are spitting the water column in the direction of small fish jumping out of the water, driving them as prey.
例如，江豚可能只是在玩耍，在觅食后在水中玩耍。或者，它们向跳出水面的小鱼的方向吐出水柱，驱赶它们作为猎物。
So are they spitting or smiling?
那么他们是在吐口水还是微笑呢？
“Yangtze River Culture · Smiling Finless Porpoise” was in fact the name of an exhibition staged 1 year ago, in part a homage to the finless porpoise that occupies the waters in our stretch of the Yangtze, and in part a call for greater environmental protection efforts.
“长江文化·微笑江豚”其实是一年前举办的一个展览的名称，一方面是向长江海域的江豚致敬，另一方面是呼吁加大环境保护力度。
The Yangtze River Finless Porpoise is the only freshwater subspecies of the finless-porpoise family. The species, only found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, has been with us for 25 million years, give or take.
长江江豚是江豚家族中唯一的淡水亚种。该物种只在长江中下游发现，已经陪伴我们 2500 万年了。
Brought to the verge of extinction earlier in the 2010s, most sightings take place in the waters around the Nanjing Dashengguan Yangtze River Bridge (formerly the Number 3 Bridge).
2010年代初期濒临灭绝，大多数目击事件发生在南京大胜关长江大桥（原三号桥）周围水域。
