Vaquita – Rarest animal in the world with only 10 in existence

As stated in latest reports, only ten vaquitas live in the wild.

This porpoise lives in the northern area ofthe Gulf of California. Their population has dropped from 600 in 1997 to 30 in 2017. So the future of these cute creatures is in danger.

The vaquita, aka the Phocoena sinus, is a small porpoise that reaches 5ft long and may weigh about 120lbs. They can live in warm water, so this is highly rare unlike other species that need water colder than 68°F.

They have black circles around their eyes. That’s the reason why they’re well-known as “sea pandas”.

The problem is traditional fishing practices in Mexico. Fishermen use gillnets to collect totoaba, an endangered fish species, which is a delicacy in China and worth up to $50,000.

This activity is not legal, but the temptation of a huge payoff drives local fishermen to keep doing it. All of this affected on the vaquita because they get tangled up in the gillnets.

Vaquita CPR, a conservation organization, took an action in 2017 to no avail. While all animals undergo some stress during their relocation to captivity, the rescued porpoise was unable to survive and died soon after being returned to the water.

But it doesn’t matter if the vaquita perishes or not, we should keep fighting for them.