World’s Rarest Marine Mammal Celebrates a Birth

The world’s most endangered porpoise species clings to existence in the Sea of Cortez off San Felipe, Mexico. There are only between seven and 10 vaquitas alive, but a survey last month revealed some good news: a newborn calf (with maybe another on the way).

Researchers from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Mexican government conducted extensive high-tech searches of the area from May to September this year. Combining acoustic and visual monitoring and drone cameras, the researchers were able to spot the elusive vaquitas from a distance without disturbing them.

“The vaquita is still there,” Mexico’s Biodiversity Undersecretary, Marina Robles García, said in a press conference announcing the survey results. “The fact that a species continues to reproduce and appears healthy is the best indicator of its life, of its condition as a species, but also the best invitation to maintain our efforts, our hope, and our joint work.”

A female vaquita was spotted with her calf on September 23. The researchers recognized the mother from past surveys, as she has a tell-tale bent dorsal fin. (They’ve named her “Frida,” after Frida Kahlo.) Based on her bulging waistline, the team believes she might be pregnant again and will birth another calf next year.

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the smallest, rarest cetacean there is, measuring less than five feet long. Its chief threat are fishing boats that trap and kill using floating nets, where vaquitas die as bycatch. In particular the population has been wracked by illegal fishing of totoaba, which fetch very high prices in China, where their bladders are used in traditional medicine.

With just a handful of vaquitas remaining, inbreeding is yet another threat to the critically endangered species. But the recent survey offers a glimmer of hope at least.

Photo credit: Fabian Rodriguez / Sea Shepherd Conservation Society