Mature individuals may be less than 1,000. According to records in China, there were 16,792 wintering individuals from 1986/87 to 1992/93, but only 3,472 from 1993/94 to 1998/99, and only 2,131 from 2002/03 to 2010/11. Bangladesh had more than 3,000 in 1996, India had more than 1,400 in 1995 and 1997, Myanmar had about 500-1,000 in the 1990s, and 596 were counted in 1998 in Thailand. But by 1999/00-2004/05, only 719 were counted in all wintering grounds except China, and only 48 individuals in 2005/06-2010/11. In China, hunting and habitat loss were considered to be the main threats. From 336 to 4,803 pochards were hunted annually in Honghu, Hubei from 1981 to 1997; in areas near Rudong County, maybe 3,000 are hunted every year. The wintering grounds have been significantly changed due to water pollution, fishing management, changes in aquatic plants, and the changing ecology of many wetlands in the Yangtze River floodplain. Factors in breeding and migrating grounds may also have contributed to its decline. The global decline shows no sign of slowing or stopping. Baer's pochard was formerly classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN. Recent research has shown that its numbers are decreasing more and more rapidly, and it was consequently uplisted to endangered status in 2008. In 2012, it was further uplisted to critically endangered. In 2014, the East Asian–Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) drafted the Baer's Pochard Task Force and it was endorsed in Jan 2015. Baer's pochard was listed as a first-class protected animal in China by 2021. In 2022, the first captive population in China was established in the Beijing Zoo, with totally 54 individuals. It is planned to be further expanded and used for reintroduction. A study published in 2022 showed that most breeding sites (81.8%) and suitable habitats (94%) are not located in protected areas, and overlap with large cities. Current protected areas may be less effective for the conservation under predicted global climate change, closely coordinated cross-border cooperation would be critical for Baer's pochard. Explanatory footnotes References External links Baer's pochard (Aythya baeri) at ARKive Aythya Birds described in 1863 Birds of China Birds of Manchuria Brood parasites Diving ducks Taxa named by Gustav Radde Critically endangered fauna of China