Over the past few years the El Paso Zoo has helped call attention to the plight of the rarest marine mammal on earth, the vaquita porpoise.  This beautiful sea creature from the Sea of Cortez is so rare, and its future so much in doubt, that the species could go extinct at any moment.  Today there are just a few animals living in a very small area of the ocean, about 1100 square miles in size (the size of Big Bend National Park). 

Vaquita rarely swim beyond their small shallow marine environment and have the most restricted range of any cetacean. None of the vaquitas that might be still alive today are monitored by GPS devices so the only way scientists can get an accurate count is by photo ID.  Last October porpoise.org reported that a survey was underway, but no information has been made public since.   According to the website the “latest report by the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA) estimates that only between 6 and 22 individuals remained alive in 2018. It is possible, though, that there no more than 10 vaquitas left. (For comparison, in 1997, the population was estimated to be about 600 individuals strong.)”

Many people living in the El Paso-Juarez area are familiar with this part of the Sea of Cortez and the town of Porta Penasco, a day’s drive from here and popular vacation destination.   Over the past few years El Paso Zoo efforts to help the vaquita have included (1) sending conservation funds in support of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Vaquita Porpoise SAFE Program Plan, (2) collecting thousands of signatures on letters in collaboration with other zoos and aquariums to the President of Mexico asking for his help and (3) creating YouTube videos and presenting programs about the vaquita at the Sea Lion exhibit.

5 things you can do to help save the vaquita

Here are 5 things you can do to help the Vaquita on International Save the Vaquita Day, Saturday, July 18.

1. Share this blog on social media.
2. Discover how complex this rescue effort is by watching the free National Geographic documentary Sea of Shadows.  After you watch it organize an awareness and take action campaign where you live.
3. Support organizations working to save the Vaquita like the Porpoise Conservation Society.
4. Support the team of conservation warriors risking their lives to save ocean animals every day aboard the Sea Shepherd. 
5. Stay informed and show your support for all El Paso Zoo Conservation efforts by following this blog with your email address.

Its not easy to save an endangered species

Years ago when I was a young wildlife warrior I heard the story of a researcher from Europe who was studying the animals and plants in a rainforest in southern Mexico.   During his time working in the forest he learned that the rainforest was planned to be cut down for a development project.   He was very upset when he heard this news and when he returned to his home he enlisted the help of school children in Europe who wrote letters to the President of Mexico asking him to save the forest.  Not long after, he learned that the letter writing campaign worked and the forest was saved. That story happened at least 40 years ago. That was then and this is now. Times have changed and some really question if elected leaders really care about letter writing campaigns.

Last year in collaboration with the Living Desert Zoo and the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Zoo sent Mexican President Obrador over 18,000 signed letters from zoo and aquarium guests asking that he provide strong leadership for vaquita conservation efforts.  That was over a year ago and despite repeated communications to government officials in Mexico City, we have never received confirmation that the President or anyone in the government even received the letters.

After sending the Zoo’s first batch of letters in 2018 I tried to contact both the President of Mexico by both email and phone to see if I could learn more about his response to our efforts. Unfortunately there is no easy way to send an email or make a phone call to the Mexican President since that information is not available online to an individual or even to a member of Congress who was also not able to help with that information.

What I can tell you is that probably the number one thing we can do today is to make sure that we support sustainable fish programs like Seafood Watch and the efforts of organizations like the the Center for Biological Diversity and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

For the sake of the vaquita and the future of ocean ecosystems, we can all do what we can and hope for the best. Its a sad day for humanity to have to watch so many of the creatures on earth that have been here for thousands of years disappear from the face of the earth forever. There is always hope, but hope for the vaquita may no longer be there.

Rick LoBello, Education Curator

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