myearthdaily

Estimated Number of Mature Individuals:  about 10 in the wild (possibly between 6 and 22); none in captivity   Location:  Northern part of the Gulf of California   Current Conservation Status:  Critically Endangered  Scientific Name:  Phocoena sinus The vaquita  is currently the rarest animal in the world , and quite possibly the most endangered, with only about only 10 individual left in wild. That estimate comes from a report published by the IUCN in early 2019 that stated that only about 10 vaquitas remained alive in 2018, as per an acoustic monitoring program conducted in the Gulf, though there is a 95% chance they number between 6 and 22. Since the Vaquita was first discovered in 1958, its numbers have always been pretty low. Vaquitas are the smallest species of porpoise and easily get caught in gillnets (nets that catch fish by their gills) used by illegal fishing operations. Also Vaquitas have such a small population becaus...