How can we help one of the worlds smallest porpoises? (Reposting from 2017)
Rare Marine Mammal on the Road to Extinction For my first blog post I wanted to inform you about the bleak future of an endangered species you may not have heard of. This species is the vaquita ( Phocoena sinus ), which, according to the World Wildlife Fund, remained unknown to science until 1958, and little over a half a century later is in danger of extinction (Vaquita). The vaquita is the smallest cetacean; marine mammals such as dolphins, porpoises and whales, in the world, measuring around 5 feet in total length (Goldfarb, 2016). A study from the Porpoise Conservation Society estimates that there were around 5,000 vaquitas in the 1930’s, with a ninety percent decline between 2011 and 2016 alone. In fact, more than half of the population has been lost in the past three years alone (Save). The vaquitas population decline is not helped by how specific its habitat is, vaquitas are only found in the northern most part of the Gulf of California where the waters are fertile. Accordin