The Vanishing Vaquita

At only about four feet long, the Vaquita is the world's smallest whale. It is found only in the Gulf of California, which is why its name is in Spanish (it means "calf"). And there are only 97 of them left in the world. Of the remaining Vaquitas, around 35 die each year, mostly from becoming entangled in gill nets set to catch fish. If this rate continues, the whole specie could be extinct by 2018.

Yet little is being done. Gill net fishing is closely monitored, but it is still done in many parts of the world, including much of the area where the Vaquita lives. It is worth mentioning that these gill nets are often set up to catch totoaba, a fish that is itself endangered. It was not until 2008 that the US, Canada, and Mexico formally launched the North American Conservation Action Plan for the Vaquita, and by then it may have been too late. The Action Plan provided fishermen with compensation for switching to  "Vaquita-safe" gear; unfortunately only about a third of fishermen offered have taken up the option.

Curiously, despite the demonstrated popularity of whales and dolphins in public aquaria, the Vaquita has never been kept in captivity. Keeping and perhaps even breeding Vaquitas would be an excellent opportunity for marine parks like SeaWorld--which often come under fire from environmentalists for their supposedly unethical practices--to show that they can indeed make a contribution to conserving the animals they display.