QUICK FACT: The “desert porpoise” has an over-sized dorsal fin to dissipate heat as it swims in the 90°F/32°C waters of the Gulf of California.

THREATS: Bycatch in fishing nets, especially gillnets, is the existential threat.

IMPORTANCE: Protecting the vaquita is urgent, as only a handful of individuals are thought to remain, and its extinction would be both imminent and preventable.

Photo credit: Thomas Jefferson

QUICK FACT: The “desert porpoise” has an over-sized dorsal fin to dissipate heat as it swims in the 90°F/32°C waters of the Gulf of California.

THREATS: Bycatch in fishing nets, especially gillnets, is the existential threat.

IMPORTANCE: Protecting the vaquita is urgent, as only a handful of individuals are thought to remain, and its extinction would be both imminent and preventable.

Photo credit: Thomas Jefferson