Vaquita - Meet The Endangered
Vaquita (Phocoena sinus)
The Vaquita (Spanish for ‘little cow’) is the most endangered marine mammal on Earth. It entered the Holocene an already rare species, filling a small ecological niche in the Gulf of California. It never numbered more than 5,000; it now numbers fewer than ten.
A porpoise, the Vaquita is the smallest of all extant cetaceans. The greatest threat to its survival is accidental extraction by fishermen aiming for a different endangered fish, the totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi). Its reproduction rates are feeble, increasing its vulnerability.
All attempts to breed the Vaquita in captivity have failed. The only hope for the species, therefore, is protecting the exiguous wild population. The Mexican government has created a Zero Tolerance Area to shield the porpoise from fishing vessels and deployed its naval forces to enforce the exclusion zone. El tiempo dirá. But it may already be too little, too late.
IUCN: Critically Endangered (CR)
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