Vaquita (Phocoena sinus) lives in shallow coastal lagoon across Gulf of California, Mexico. It feeds on fish and squid. Its conservation status is Critically Endangered.
Fascinating facts about the Vaquita
- Female vaquitas grow to about 150 cm and males to roughly 140 cm, making them the smallest living cetacean on the planet. Their compact bodies weigh between 27 kg and 68 kg, a size that distinguishes them from all other whales and dolphins. The species also bears a tall triangular dorsal fin and a rounded head, features that help researchers spot them in the water.
- The vaquita inhabits only a tiny portion of the upper Gulf of California, giving it the smallest geographic range of any cetacean species. Within this narrow area it lives in shallow, turbid waters that never exceed 150 m in depth, limiting its distribution to coastal habitats. This confinement to a single, restricted marine zone makes the species especially vulnerable to local threats such as fishing gear and pollution.
- Recent surveys have shown that the vaquita population is perilously low, with a 2022 estimate of fewer than ten individuals remaining. A 2024 survey recorded a minimum of six to eight animals and a maximum of nine to eleven, the lowest counts ever documented for the species. By 2023 estimates still suggested only about ten individuals in the wild, and monitoring in 2025 identified seven to ten unique animals together with the birth of new calves.
- The decline of the vaquita is primarily due to bycatch in gillnets used in the illegal totoaba fishery. These nets have contributed to the population dropping from hundreds to fewer than twenty individuals over recent decades.
- Male vaquitas have testes that account for nearly 3% of their body mass, indicating intense male competition. This is consistent with a polygynous mating system in which males compete for females.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeGulf of California, Mexico
HabitatShallow coastal lagoon
DietFish and squid
About the Vaquita
In the murky, sun-dappled waters of the Gulf of California, a fleeting glimpse of the vaquita's dark, sleek form is a rare and precious sight, its large, round eyes and delicate features a poignant reminder of the fragility and beauty of this most endangered of creatures. As it glides effortlessly through the waves, its porpoise-like body undulating with a gentle, almost ethereal motion, the vaquita seems a phantom of the deep, a whispered rumor of a life lived on the very brink of extinction. Its elusive nature only adds to the vaquita's mystique, a shy and enigmatic presence that haunts the coastal waters like a ghostly apparition.
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