Vaquitas could breed their way back from the brink of extinction

By Corryn Wetzel

There are only 10 vaquitas left in the world, but a genetic analysis suggests the small porpoises aren't necessarily doomed to extinction, so long as they stop getting caught in fishing nets.

vaquitas are the smallest marine mammal on the planet and are particularly vulnerable to being entangled in gill nets used in illegal fishing operations in Mexico. The porpoises weren't known to science until the 1950s. They have become one of the world's most threatened animals.

The vaquitas have never numbered more than a few thousand individuals. There were hundreds left by the 1990s. Vaquitas' small population size reduced their genetic diversity, which researchers worried could lead to offspring that are less healthy than their parents.