With fishing and shrimping killing about 15% of their numbers each year, the smallest of the porpoise family is poised for extinction. Vaquitas are found solely in Mexico's Gulf of California, near the mouth of the Colorado River, but soon they won't be found anywhere.
Growing to a about five feet and weighing around 100 pounds, the vaquita ("little cow") is one of the most elusive marine mammals in the ocean. To date, only one picture of a live vaquita's face has been taken. They are so elusive that scientists are forced to monitor them acoustically. Shy loners, vaquitas generally shun social groups, though mothers stay with calves until they are mature. They feed primarily on fish.
UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE NOT ELUSIVE ENOUGH!
When they are gone, there will be unanticiapted consquences. The vaquita is one of the Gulf of Mexico's prime predators, and eliminating it may wreak havoc on resident fish populations, causing them first to explode, then decline when food stocks are overburdened.
