Endangered Endangered Endangered Animals Animals Animals

Written By Oak Grove Environmental Action

Club

Animal: Vaquita

Status: Critically Endangered

Meet the Vaquitas

Small dolphin-like mammals, the vaquita is currently considered to be one of the most endangered animals on Earth. These porpoises are considered the smallest of their kind and are often compared to pandas because of their striking features!

Why Are They Going Extinct

The main culprit behind the vaquita’s endangered state has been illegal poaching done by cartels. As these small creatures live in similar areas to the totoaba fish -- who have been illegally caught and traded for thousands of dollars in China -- they often get caught in the large nets meant for the totoaba As a result, their numbers have dwindled rapidly!

How To Help

With an appallingly low population estimated at roughly ten, this species is likely to go extinct very soon if serious action is not taken. We here at EAC highly recommend showing support for conservation efforts in the Gulf of California, whether that be through donations or through following their work and making the effort to participate in things such as petitions. One specific group we found to be highly knowledgeable and active in saving the vaquitas was !Viva Vaquita!, a coalition of multiple other conservation organizations To learn more about their work and how to help, visit vivavaquita.org

Sources

“Help Save the Vaquita: The World's MostEndangered Cetacean ” Save The Whales, 18 Oct. 2018, https://savethewhales.org/help-save-thevaquita/

“6 Facts about Vaquitas, the World's Most Endangered Species.” Earth.Org, https://earth org/endangeredspecies/vaquitas/.

“Saving The Vaquita ” Biological Diversity, https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species /mammals/vaquita/.

Kieckhefer, et al “Home - Viva Vaquita: Working to Save the Vaquita Porpoise.”

VIVA Vaquita | Working to Save the Vaquita Porpoise, 3 Aug. 2022, https://vivavaquita.org/. .

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