The world’s smallest marine mammal is so critically endangered that there are only about 10 left in its sole habitat of Mexico’s Gulf of California. But that may not yet spell doom for the vaquita porpoise, according to new research.
Highlights
- The world’s smallest marine mammal is so critically endangered that there are only about 10 remaining in its habitat in Mexico’s Gulf of California.
- The vaquitas have been pushed to the brink of going extinct due to illegal gillnetting, which is used to capture shrimp and totoaba fish that share the same habitat as the porpoises.
- Scientists studied genetic patterns from vaquita tissue samples collected between 1985 and 2017 by Mexican researchers.
- The fact that they have maintained a small population for so long has helped to reduce the risks of inbreeding because they have less genetic variation between them and less harmful mutations.
- When animals with negative traits mate, it’s more likely that their offspring will die.