Vaquita
( Phocoena sinus )
Vaquita is Spanish for “little cow” and is endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California in Baja California, Mexico. The Vaquita’s average size is 5 ft (150 cm) in length, making it the smallest of all living cetaceans (dolphin, whale, and porpoise family). Vaquitas have very unique faces with a thick dark coloring around their eyes and lips giving them an appearance similar to wearing makeup.
Unlike dolphins that will follow boats, Vaquitas are very shy creatures. The Vaquita was not discovered until 1958 and even now not much information is known about the Vaquita. Vaquitas have been observed to create a series of short, intense, high-frequency clicks for echolocation and maybe communication. Scientists believe the Vaquita uses echolocation to navigate and hunt fish in murky waters.
The Vaquita is the most endangered marine mammal in the world. The IUCN has designated the Vaquita as critically endangered with an estimated 10 Vaquitas left in the wild. The drastic decline in the Vaquita population is the result of fisheries bycatch from commercial and illegal gillnets.
To learn more about the Vaquita and conservation efforts to save the Vaquita click the link below: