Vaquita Porpoise: The World’s Most Endangered Animal
We live in the age of extinction. It’s thought that around 150-200 species of flora and fauna go extinct every day. Often, these species leave our world without much fanfare, but there are some whose destruction would be impossible to ignore.
When we talk about the threat of extinction, few species can feel it more keenly than the vaquita porpoise.
There are thought to be only nine vaquitas left in the world.
With no captive animals and no vaquita living in sanctuaries or protected habitats, once those 9 are gone, that is the end of the vaquita. Such a minute population makes vaquita the most endangered animal on the planet (when considering large and well-known species).
If vaquita were lost, they would become the second cetacean species to go extinct within the course of modern human history, the other being the baiji river dolphin, not seen since 2006.
In our look at the world’s most endangered animal, the vaquita porpoise, we will:
Profile the vaquita porpoise
Look at the decline of this rare cetacean
Discuss why the vaquita porpoise is the world’s most endangered animal
And look at what can be done, if anything, to help vaquita avoid extinction.
The Vaquita Porpoise: Animal Fact Profile
There is much more to this remarkable porpoise than simply being the most endangered animal on the planet.
Vaquita is the smallest species of cetacea (whales & dolphins) on our planet. They can measure between 1.2m and 1.5m; about the same height as a 10-year-old child. They live in small groups of 2 or 3 individuals.
Despite being considered ‘megafauna’ with very distinctive markings, the vaquita was only discovered in the 1980s. This is because they’re timid animals, shying away from the sounds of boats. They are also not prone to the exuberant behaviours of their dolphin cousins, so will not approach people or leap from the water.
Generalised eaters, they’ll hunt many forms of small prey but primarily focus on squid and crustaceans.
The vaquita has a lifespan of around 20 years.
Vaquita has the smallest distribution range of any known whale or dolphin. You can only find a vaquita porpoise in the Gulf of California, Mexico -- also known as the Sea of Cortez. However, they are not found widely here either, and stick to a very specific patch of shallow coastline in the northern-western corner of the gulf. You’d be forgiven for thinking that their narrow range makes them easy to find, but thanks to being the most endangered animal on the planet coupled with their timid behaviour, the chances of spotting vaquita are infinitesimally small.
Vaquita Porpoise Population Decline Data
The vaquita population has never been a large population.
In the 1990s, a survey suggested there were fewer than 600 vaquita porpoises in the wild. Far from the most endangered animal at the time, but not a widely distributed population either.
But things got very bad very quickly.
A further survey in 2007 saw the vaquita porpoise numbers diminished to around 150 animals. Concern was raised, but the figures kept tumbling.
By 2018 there were thought to be a maximum of 22 vaquita porpoises left.
In 2021, that number is less than 10.
The population of vaquita porpoises has declined by 98% since its discovery only a few decades ago. Rates of decline accelerated quickly as we moved into the 21st century, to a point where they reached a 33% population loss per year.
At this rate, the vaquita porpoise could be extinct within only a few years.
Why is the Vaquita Endangered?
Vaquita is preyed upon by sharks, but this is not the cause of their rapid decline. Vaquita is also known to be contaminated with high numbers of pollutants and toxic chemicals, as most cetacea are.
So if predation and chemical toxicity have been ruled out as the cause of their catastrophic population loss, why are vaquita porpoise suffering so badly?
Exploitative fishery practices are the primary reason for the vaquita’s demise. More specifically, the world’s most endangered animal is becoming entangled in gillnets, and drowning as a result.
Gillnets are a highly unsustainable and harmful form of fishing. They sit in the water, attached to buoys and weighed down at the bottom. They effectively create a netting screen from seabed to surface. When fish swim through the net, they get stuck and are caught. The problem with gillnets though, is that they are not monitored, and are often left out in the ocean for later collection. While out in the water, anything that swims into a gillnet can get trapped, including the vaquita porpoise. If not freed immediately, the porpoise will die.
This process is known as ‘bycatch’ and is the reason many large marine animals like sharks, dolphins, whales, turtles and porpoises are accidentally killed around the world by fishers.
The Real Problem with Gillnets
Between 2016 and 2021, there were 11 confirmed deaths amongst the vaquita population attributed to gillnets. It is thought that most all non-natural vaquita deaths are caused by gillnet bycatch, although many go unreported.
It would seem that the vaquita conundrum has a simple solution: ban gillnets.
The problem is, the Mexican government already did this. It is now illegal to use gillnets in the vaquita habitat range and has been since 2017, yet many fishers continue to employ these indiscriminate killers.
Why?
The gillnets serve a valuable purpose to fishers, they allow them to easily catch totoaba, a large species of fish coveted in China both for its use in food and medicine. It’s this demand for totoaba that means poaching in the Gulf of California is easily as complicated as poaching in locations like Africa.
There is a major problem with poverty in Baja California, Mexico, where the Gulf of California is found, and in China, the price of totoaba can reach over $15,000 per kilo. Just as with rhino horn or pangolin scale - other commodities that are heavily trafficked into China - many are willing to risk everything to make a living on poaching.
These people have little-to-no way of making money by other means. When it’s a choice between harvesting totoaba at the cost of vaquita, or potential starvation, it’s no surprise that a ban on gillnets has done very little to slow the decline of vaquita numbers.
So that is what conservation groups and the Mexican government are dealing with: desperate poachers; often referred to as Totoaba Cartels.
As we’ve seen elsewhere, you can’t just ban the act of poaching and expect it to stop.
But what can be done?
What is Being Done to Help the World’s Most Endangered Animal?
The Mexican government has spent over $100 million on efforts to save the vaquita from extinction. They’ve invested in a number of initiatives, from navy patrols for poachers and crackdowns on Totoaba Cartels to subsiding fishers in an attempt to stop them from relying on totoaba to make a living.
Non-profits and charities also aid in the fight to save the vaquita.
There have been attempts to move vaquita to sanctuaries, and even attempts to move them into captivity to establish breeding populations. Sadly, the first and only attempt to capture vaquita saw one animal refuse to eat until it was released, and the other die due to the stresses of captivity.
As the situation got more and more concerning, more measures were introduced to try and protect the world’s most endangered animal.
The US government has put a ban on the importation of fish from the vaquita habitat range, trying to reduce the value of other catch that could come from illegal nets. On top of this, plenty of organisations, alongside the Mexican navy, dedicate their time to going out into the Gulf of California and manually removing gillnets.
Yet despite all efforts, vaquita populations have dropped year on year. There is simply too much money in the illegal trade of totoaba for poachers to give in, and too much ocean for the government and charities to watch 24/7.
Can We Stop the Vaquita Porpoise From Going Extinct?
Nine animals left. Can we really save the world’s most endangered animal?
Even in the face of total population collapse, there are still plenty of charities out there fighting for vaquita. They have not given up hope and continue to look for new solutions to this ecological crisis. Donations, support and adoption packages can help fund efforts to sustain the population and keep the few animals left alive, alive.
These are a few of the charities you can support:
The charities above are not only getting involved directly with conservation efforts but also supporting educational practices that help to stop the high demand for totoaba in China.
One of their aims is to stop the use of gillnets by removing the need for them.
If nobody is buying totoaba, there is no bycatch from poaching them in vaquita waters. No bycatch gives vaquita a chance to recover.
A Message of Hope for the Vaquita: The World’s Most Endangered Animal
Dr Thomas A. Jefferson, a marine conservation scientist who has worked on the frontline of vaquita recovery efforts, spoke to the Marine Mammal Science Podcast, and urged listeners to keep the faith that the world’s most endangered animal could still survive a total extinction event.
Jefferson - who has witnessed all the horrors and disasters of the vaquita recovery efforts - is adamant that as long at least a single breeding pair remains alive, the mission to save the vaquita remains alive as well.
While the destruction of the vaquita population may seem inevitable, their future is far from certain. If you can help the vaquita, get involved. Support those dedicating their lives to a world in which we still have vaquita porpoise.
You may yet be part of an effort that saves the world’s most endangered animal from extinction.
If we can save vaquita, the world’s most endangered animal of only nine surviving creatures, that this not only helps the vaquita, but the many other populations out there with 100 animals or fewer. If we can pull vaquita back from the precipice of extinction, can we not save other dangerously endangered animals as well? Xplore the website to learn more about other conservation efforts.
