Vaquita - Gulf of California Porpoise facing extinction

[lock_washer]

This is the newstory link from the San Diego Union:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20070129-9999-1n29vaquita.html

We just lost the baiji porpoise (chinese river dolphin) in China. The gulf of California porpoise (vaquita) is down to 400 animals. This is a unique porpoise that very few people have ever seen. It still can be saved. If a few of them can be brought into a capitive enviroment for breeding...it would generate an outpouring of support to save them.

Porpoises are a unique member of the cetacean family. We still don't know alot about them. Most people don't know the difference between a dolphin and porpoise or realize that they are two different species.

This aquarium in Denmark has harbor porpoises on display:
http://www.fjord-baelt.dk/index.html

They are currently doing studies on how to save the harbor porpoise from getting caught in gill nets in European waters.

It would be nice to put this effort to save the vaquita.

 

[cavernicola]

HI:
Vaquitas are the smallest of the porpoises. This beakless porpoise is one of the six species of porpoise in the world. It is very elusive and there almost no photographs of this animal alive. Unfortunately the few studies on this species show almost null immune genetic variability which is detrimental for the species survival on the long term, on the other hand the historic demography studies show that this species has had a low population number since its origin. The data shows that extinction could be happening soon but... who knows? It is only working by reducing the antropogenic effect, that the vaquitas may have a chance of survival. Some achievements have been done but there is still a lot of work to do, a complex situation that happens when large economics interests collide with conservation efforts. Hopefully we will be able to conserve this animal and that will be a major success in Mexican waters.
More information on http://www.cms.int/reports/small_cetaceans/data/P_sinus/p_sinus.htm
See jah