This porpoise, with black around its eyes like a panda, is called the vaquita. It looks like a toy at first glance, but there are now less than 10 left on Earth.

The vaquita's name comes from the Spanish word for "little cow." It's only up to 150cm tall, making it smaller than most adult women. Its unique appearance unfortunately led to a serious extinction crisis after its discovery by humans.

Searching for vaquita on the internet will show you how quickly it is declining. According to 2015 data, 100 individuals survived. In 2017, data showed that about 30 were alive, and in 2023, it was confirmed that only about 8 survived. The population has decreased by more than one-tenth in the past eight years.

The reason for the vaquita's rapid extinction is, once again, humans. The vaquita, which lives in the Gulf of California in Mexico, often dies after getting caught in gillnets that are set to catch other fish. Gillnets are very thin nets that are invisible. The problem is that the other fish they're trying to catch are also endangered. They are threatening the extinction of two endangered species at the same time by catching the endangered totoaba for trade with China.

The vaquita is currently classified as critically endangered (CR) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, it is not even known for sure if the 8 individuals recently confirmed are all alive, so it wouldn't be surprising at all if they went extinct this year.

With so few individuals left, increasing the population becomes even more difficult. To increase the population, they need to breed, but with less than 8 left, they have to inbreed. Inbreeding reduces genetic diversity and significantly increases the likelihood of mutations. However, thankfully, according to one study, the risks associated with inbreeding in vaquita are lower than in other species.

However, the problem is still illegal fishing. No matter how many vaquita breed naturally and increase their population, they cannot escape extinction if illegal fishing continues. Since dolphins are mammals, they can only give birth to one dolphin at a time, so it takes longer for them to increase their population through natural breeding.

To protect the vaquita, illegal gillnet fishing must be stopped first. The Mexican government has banned commercial fishing near the Gulf of California to prevent illegal fishing and compensated fishermen so they can continue fishing in other areas. However, despite these efforts, which have been ongoing since 2005, they have not been effective in preventing extinction, so the Mexican government has designated the area where the vaquita lives as a no-tolerance zone (ZTA) and stepped up enforcement against illegal fishing.

Now may be the last chance to prevent the extinction of the vaquita. Humans must restore the ecosystem that they have ruined.