The vaquita, the world’s smallest and most endangered cetacean, is found only in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California. Vaquita is Spanish for “little cow” and “vaquita marina” is Spanish for “little sea cow.”. Immediate, decisive and effective actions are required to save this iconic species from extinction. Vaquita Facts. more than 300,000 whales, porpoises and dolphins, Mexico announces permanent ban of gill-nets in vaquita habitat, Vaquita population down to 30 individuals. Vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) have made their home in the northern. Porpoises lack a beak while dolphins tend to have more prominent beaks. Vaquita Population Decline. Why are Mexico's efforts to save the vaquita not effective? And Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the only one who can make it happen. The vaquita is running out of time. 245. Between 1997 and 2019, gillnets killed hundreds of vaquitas. Porpoises also tend to have triangular dorsal fins, rather than the falcate dorsal fins of most dolphins. While most porpoises inhabit cold waters, water temperatures in the vaquita’s habitat can exceed 32°C (90°F) in the summer and fall. info /at/ porpoise.org. 2019. Today, the species is on the brink of extinction. What efforts have been made to save the vaquita? Porpoises have spade-shaped teeth whereas dolphins’ teeth are conical. The only stable social groups are made up of mother-calf pairs but have been spotted in groups of up to 9 animals. The release of the new vaquita estimate comes just two days after reports of the possible first vaquita mortality of 2019. 2015. Vaquitas are polydactylous—they have an extra digit in each flipper. In 2005 Mexico’s government made part of the gulf a vaquita refuge. info /at/ porpoise.org, "What can I do to save the vaquita porpoise? It is possible, though, that there no more than 10 vaquitas left. Vaquitas produce series of short, intense, high-frequency clicks for echolocation and possibly communication. Beach at the Sea of Cortez in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. Between 1997 and 2019, gillnets killed hundreds of vaquitas. But the population kept falling—from more than 200 individuals in 2008 to fewer than 30 in 2016. The latest report by the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA) estimates that only between 6 and 22 individuals remained alive in 2018. 1997. 2016. 567. Vaquitas tend to be solitary. It has a distinct dark ring around each eye, dark gray lipstick-like markings and a dark stripe extending from the chin to the flippers. The vaquita, like other porpoises, differs from dolphins in several ways. Averaging 150 cm (for females) or 140 cm (for males) in length, it is the smallest of all living cetaceans. Report of the Eleventh meeting of the Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita (CIRVA), Scientists Spot Vaquita Mother and Calf Pair, New Vaquita Survey Underway as Mexico Promises to Commit Additional Resources to Enforce Law, UNESCO Places Vaquita Habitat on World Heritage in Danger List. Why is by-catch in fishing nets an issue for porpoises? Their estimated population dropped from approximately 600 to fewer than 20 animals. Vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) have made their home in the northern Gulf of California thousands of miles from their nearest relative in Peru. Despite being next to one of the hottest deserts in the world, the waters where vaquitas live are not clear, tropical waters but waters clouded with life because of the strong currents and nutrients stirred from the muddy bottom deposited by thousands of years of runoff from the Colorado River. Vaquitas sport an extra tall dorsal fin and long flippers that likely help them dissipate the heat. Scientists use arrays of underwater hydrophones to “listen” for a vaquita’s distinctive clicks. If there are only so few left, can we still save the vaquita? ", Scientists Spot Vaquita Mother and Calf Pair, New Vaquita Survey Underway as Mexico Promises to Commit Additional Resources to Enforce Law. Vaquita Population Continues Decline as Totoaba Fishery Grows Posted on April 14, 2019 at 10:10 am. All porpoises live in highly productive waters, which are typically found in northern areas. 30. Their estimated population dropped from approximately 600 to fewer than 20 animals. The clicks that vaquitas produce probably lie outside the hearing range of their fish and squid prey, allowing the vaquitas to sneak up on their prey. Sign the petition to send a message to the Mexican government that now is the time to act. Vaquitas were scientifically discovered as … The tiny vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus) is found only in the shallow waters of the northern Gulf of California, Mexico.It is the most endangered of the 128 marine mammals alive in the world today. Report of the Eleventh meeting of the Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita (CIRVA). More details are expected in the coming days. 2008. Less Than 20. Vaquitas live about a four-and-a-half-hour drive from San Diego. The vaquita’s entire range is about 4,000 km2—nearly the size of the state of
 Rhode Island. The vaquita is dark gray to light gray to white and is counter-shaded with a dark-gray dorsal and white ventral. This technique helps scientists obtain more accurate population estimates for the vaquita. The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), literally "little cow", is a species of porpoise endemic to the northern end of the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez, Vermilion Sea). What is the totoaba and how is it connected to the vaquita? What efforts have been made to save the vaquita? It has a relatively taller and more falcate (curved-back) dorsal fin than other porpoise species.​, Copyright 2019 – VaquitaCPR | All Rights ReservedVaquitaCPR is administered by www.NMMF.org, All porpoises live in highly productive waters, which are typically found in northern areas. Recent research estimates the population at fewer than 19 individuals. (For comparison, in 1997, the population was estimated to be about 600 individuals strong.) > The vaquita population has decreased by 18.5% per year in recent years. Its proportionally larger dorsal fin and flippers help a vaquita offload extra body heat in warmer waters. Vaquitas were scientifically discovered as a new species in 1958. There are fewer than 19 vaquita porpoises thought to be left, according to a study. The vaquita is also called “vaquita marina” and the Gulf of California harbor porpoise. They rely on echolocation to navigate and hunt in dark or murky waters where vision is of little use. The steep decline in abundance is primarily due to bycatch in gillnets from the illegal totoaba fishery. 59.