There are seven species of porpoise worldwide: the Vaquita, the Burmeister’s Porpoise, the Spectacled Porpoise, the Harbor Porpoise, the Dall’s Porpoise, the Indo-Pacific Finless Porpoise, and the Narrow-ridged Finless Porpoise.
I was very pleased when I heard about an online Vaquita book! Check it out here: http://bibliotecadigital.ilce.edu.mx/sites/educa/libros/vaquita/htm/sec_3.htm. It was very detailed, and I was intrigued by the Native American legend.
Like a web,
the net
devoured my soul.
With invisible hands,
the net
gouged my body.
Like a whirlpool,
the net
sucked me in;
stabbing me with knives,
wrapping me up.
I rolled to escape
the net,
but it was no use.
The net
tightened,
suffocating me.
The net
stopped my heart.
The Vaquita eats a wide range of small fish and squid. All of the 17 fish species that have been found in Vaquita stomachs can be classified as Demersal and/or Benthic species living in relatively shallow water in the northern Gulf of California.
The Vaquita has been known to science since
A) 1955.
B) 1938.
C) 1972.
D) 1958.
The only cetacean known to go extinct due to human activity is the Baiji, Lipotes vexillifer. In 2006, after an intense, 6-week search in all of the Baiji’s historic range, it was considered extinct. Don’t let the Vaquita be the second. Learn more about the Baiji by clicking on the links below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baiji
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/chineseriverdolphin.htm
Sun made its way
to her back,
Casting a morphing shadow
on the powdery sand.
Bubbles slipped out of her lungs,
dancing to the swirling surface.
She rose up
toward the beckoning sun.
Her blowhole inhaled
the salty air,
Refilling her lungs
like a balloon.
She noticed a ship
in the distance.
Binoculars and cameras faced her,
flashing.
She floated in glory,
admired by the many people.
She was beautiful.
The Vaquita has never survived in captivity.
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.
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.→
V-log 