Vaquita

## About

A vaquita surfacing.

The vaquita ***(Phocoenus sinus)*** is a tiny porpoise that lives exclusively in the Gulf of California. Vaquita means 'little cow' in Spanish in reference to their small size as well as the dark marks around their eyes that give them a cow/ bovine look. Vaquitas have light grey bodies and dark grey backs. They also have black markings that ring their eyes and lips. Vaquitas have small eyes and lack a noticeable beak, a characteristic of porpoises, vaquitas also have small stocky bodies with triangular dorsal and pectoral fins. Vaquitas are the smallest known Cetaceans and only grow up to an average length of 1.2-1.5m (5ft) and weigh 45kg (100lbs).

## Diet

Vaquitas are opportunistic predators that eat a variety of foods including crustaceans like shrimp, small fish as well as squid or octopuses that live in their range.

## Conservation Status

As of 2022 vaquitas are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. This placement is due to the vaquita's pitifully small population accompanied by its small range. Vaquitas are incredibly rare and are also seldom seen in their range. Many conservation groups are attempting to recover the vaquita's small population. Some of these groups include but are not limited to; WWF and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). the WWF helped create a two-year ban of gillnets in the vaquita's range and partnered up with the Mexican government to make sure the law was well enforced. SSCS has also been working extremely hard to keep the vaquita safe. In 2015 SSCS started working with the Mexican authorities to start operation milagro (a spanish word that means miracle). Operation milagro is a project that was made to help vaquita populations recover from mass gillnet fishing. Milagro sees the Mexican authorities teaming up with SSCS in order to protect the vaquita's last refuge, remove illegal fishing equipment from the area, as well as crack down on poaching of totoaba ***(Totoaba macdonaldi)*** in the waters of the Gulf of California. All these efforts have lead to a positive increase in the chances of survival for the vaquita. Vaquita have been threatened for decades by the use gillnets to catch the vulnerable totoaba fish. Totoaba are caught for the use of their swim bladders in the black market trade. The gillnets that trap these fish also ensnare and kill vaquita, these gillnets have lead the vaquita population to decrease by 90% over the past two centuries.

## Range and Population

Vaquitas live in the northern-most parts of the Gulf of California, in relatively shallow tropical waters that have an average depth of 50m (164ft). The vaquita population has shrunk from 59 in 2015 to 30 in 2016 to a miniscule 10 in 2022. With the vaquita having such a small population, many think it is too late to even attempt to save the species. This is not true. Vaquitas can be saved and their population can flourish however, this would require the complete elimination of all illegal fishing apparatus including gillnets. This task is daunting but many groups such as the SSCS (discussed above) have been steadily increasing the vaquita's chance of survival, but for now we can only hope that the vaquita population can bounce back. When vaquita were first discovered in 1958 the population was already small at 567 individuals but presently with the population suspected to be at around 10, with optimistic statistics saying around 20 the species can only be saved if the Mexican authorities are willing to help conservation groups. During late 2021 8 mature vaquita were sighted and 1 calf was confirmed. This calf represents a glimmer of hope for the species.

## Behaviour

Vaquita are skittish animals that rarely show themselves around humans. They are relatively social traveling in small groups of 2-3 individuals. Vaquitas do not exhibit breaching like other Cetaceans and also do not swim close to the water's surface, making them very hard to spot by humans compared to other Cetaceans.

### Relationship with Humans

As discussed before, vaquita are shy and flighty animals that do not show themselves often. Vaquita actively avoid humans and motorised vessels, making it very hard to observe them in the wild.

## In Captivity

There are currently no captive vaquita. This is because vaquita are very easily stressed and can die of shock when handled by humans. In 2017, an attempt was made to captively monitor and breed vaquita in 'sea pens', one young individual was successfully captured, examined and released. These sea pens were unfortunately abandoned having not been very successful, even having one female that was captured and died of cardiac arrest during the process. Without the ability to breed vaquita in captivity, many suspect the species is doomed.

## Sources

* Vaquita | WWF - https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/vaquita
* IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/17028/50370296#habitat-ecology
* Vaquita | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - https://seashepherd.org/
* Vaquita | Porpoise Conservation Society - https://porpoise.org/about-porpoises/vaquita/