Rapid Fire
Vaquita Porpoise
- 29 Aug 2025
- 2 min read
A new report has highlighted that only about 10 vaquita porpoise, the world’s rarest marine mammal, remain in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Mexico.
- Their numbers have plummeted due to entanglement in illegal gillnets used for catching totoaba (an endangered fish prized for its swim bladder).
Vaquita Porpoise (Phocoena sinus)
- About: The vaquita porpoise (little cow in Spanish), is the world’s most endangered marine mammal discovered in 1958.
- Porpoises are the smallest members of the cetacean family (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and are distant relatives of dolphins, diverging around 15 million years ago.
- Habitat: Marine, restricted to the northern Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Mexico, mostly in shallow waters up to 50 m deep.
- Physical Characteristics: Vaquitas have dark rings around the eyes, dark patches on lips stretching to the fins. Newborns are darker with a gray fringe.
- Their large dorsal fin helps release body heat in warm waters.
- Behavior: Shy and usually stay near the shore. They avoid boats and are mostly solitary or in very small groups, unlike other cetaceans that travel in large pods.
- Threats: Bycatch in illegal gillnets set for the vulnerable totoaba fish.
- Protection Status:
- IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered.
- CITES: Appendix I
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