Sophie Matthews
You probably won't have heard of this animal before, probably because this majestic creature is critically endangered.
Scientists believe that there are less than ten vaquitas left in the world! This is devastating as they were only discovered in 1958 so no more than half a century later they are on the brink of being extinct.
The biggest threat for these extraordinary mammals is the fishery bycatch, (when a fish is caught unintentionally by a fishing net which was aimed to catch a different type of sea animal) and if not eliminated the vaquita won’t survive the rest of this year. Drastic action needs to be taken (and quickly) unless humans want to be the cause of another global extinction.
All about the Vaquita
As well as being the rarest marine mammal the vaquita is also the smallest standing only at about 140 to 150 cm and weighs about 46.5kg. Their habitat remains in the Gulf of California- where the first vaquita were discovered. They have very unique facial features that make them look as if they’re smiling. But no vaquita will actually be smiling now as their homes are being destroyed by litter and old fishing nets that they get caught in. Sadly the only way to save the vaquita now is to get the government to make sure that their homes are cleaned and that the fishery bycatch is made illegal.
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