Operation Milagro: The Vaquita Defense Campaign Dr. Reese Halter - HuffPost Green
go to original November 24, 2015

Saving Vaquitas from Extinction (naturesblueprint)

The world's most critically endangered marine mammal - a small porpoise called the vaquita - is finally getting the attention it so desperately needs to survive. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has embarked on a crucial mission, Operation Milagro, aboard the RV Martin Sheen to save the vaquitas.

"I am very excited to be returning to the Gulf of California with my crew to defend the precious and petite vaquita porpoise from becoming extinct," said Campaign Leader Captain Oona Layolle.

This splendid looking porpoise only resides in the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez) between Baja, California, Mexico and the Mexican mainland - a biological jewel as deemed by its UNESCO World Heritage Site status. It's home to many species of cetaceans including fin, sperm and blue whales, which are exhibiting sunburns from spending time on the surface from increasing levels of ultra-violet radiation, another unintended consequence of the climate crisis.

Did you know that the first live vaquita was sighted in 1958? Since then there numbers have plummeted. Overfishing has indiscriminately near wiped them off the face of the Earth.

There are fewer than 100 vaquitas remaining on the globe. Please support the crucial conservation work of Sea Shepherd and together let's save these exquisite little porpoises from extinction!

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