Natural History Wanderings

NPR reports

The vaquita marina, Spanish for “little sea cow,” is considered the world’s most endangered marine mammal.

The gray porpoise – known for its small size and characteristic black markings around its eyes and mouth – only lives in the northernmost part of Mexico’s Gulf of California, where fishing has brought the species to the brink of extinction.

But research now finds that, genetically speaking, there is still hope the vaquita population can recover.

Read more Inbreeding will not be the end of Mexico’s endangered vaquita marina : NPR