There are no known subspecies of Vaquita. This is because they have such a limited distribution in one singular location, with no evolutionary separation. At one point, however, the Vaquita and Burmeister’s Porpoise might have been the same species, millions of years ago.
Monthly Archives: March 2012
The Little Cow That Could
I know it is a little late, but I would like to show you a post that a cool guy named Brett Fish wrote about me in December called “The Little Cow That Could.” His article is extremely important to me. He is a very inspiring writer, and I insist you check out the rest of his blog as well.
E-newsletter
Check out this Save The Whales E-newsletter, “A concert to benefit the Vaquita porpoise and ¡Viva Vaquita! donation to CEDO for Vaquita conservation project!”
Lifeless
The boat rocked with every rolling current
As I slowly fed my net into the swirling aqua sea.
I watched as the floats drifted off,
Knowing the next time I would touch them,
I would be hauling hundreds of shrimp onto this deck.
I leaned against the cabin window,
Arms crossed.
I thought of my beautiful family:
My wife and son.
This was for them.
A large mob of gulls swarmed around the boat:
There must have been something in the water.
Spitting tobacco overboard, I began to pull in the net.
Inch by inch,
Foot by foot.
It was too late.
She was already gone.
A dead Vaquita lay mangled in the mesh,
Lifeless and dripping in blood from the lacerations.
I sat down on the deck and began to cry.
Shock
Vaquita actually don’t drown when they get entangled in gillnets. Despite being able to hold their breath for long periods of time, they quickly go into a state of shock and their heart stops usually before they can escape. This is a natural, but very unfortunate, reaction that eliminates the possibility of catch-and-release in gillnet bycatch.
Poster
Check out this awesome poster by wonderful artist Memuco:
http://memuco.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/vaquita-critically-endangered/
Other names
Some other names for the Vaquita are Cochito, Gulf of California Harbor Porpoise, Gulf of California Porpoise, Gulf Porpoise, Hafenschweinswal, and Marsouin du Golfe de Californie.
Signature goal Quiz
The ¡Viva Vaquita! petition on Change.org has a signature goal of
A) 500 signatures.
B) 1000 signatures.
C) 2000 signatures.
D) 5000 signatures.
Bears, fish, and a porpoise
In bamboo forests Pandas dwell.
They’re shy and hidden, but we know them well.
Anglerfish live undersea in glory.
They’re rarely seen, but strangely, same story.
Why don’t people know about the Vaquita?
Because few of us have gotten to meet ‘er.
The fact is, though, we’ll never get to see one
Unless we immediately start to save ’em.
Let’s not wait another night:
Click the link to Cetos, on the right.→
Are we doing all we can?
Check out this report of findings from the Vaquita Workshop at the Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Tampa, Florida held in November 2011.
http://www.slideshare.net/cbutner/saving-the-vaquita-are-we-doing-all-we-can
V-log 