{"id":316749,"date":"2025-11-29T16:02:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T16:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/316749\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T16:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T16:02:09","slug":"scientists-gasp-as-they-spot-worlds-rarest-marine-mammal-with-a-miracle-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/316749\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Gasp As They Spot World\u2019s Rarest Marine Mammal With A \u2018Miracle\u2019 Baby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone\u2019s heard of blue whales and bottlenose dolphins. But have you ever heard of vaquitas?<\/p>\n

In the warm waters of the Gulf of California, off Mexico, there lives a tiny porpoise on the brink of extinction. Measuring under 5 feet long, vaquitas are the world\u2019s smallest cetacean (the order of marine mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises). They’re known for their chunky gray body, white belly and lips that are quirked up in what looks like a friendly smile.<\/p>\n

Between 1997 and 2018, vaquita numbers declined from 560 members of the species to just 10 total, making them the world\u2019s rarest marine mammal and one of the most endangered species on the planet.<\/p>\n

Shy vaquitas aren\u2019t often photographed up close, but the drawing below illustrates their adorable, unique appearance:<\/p>\n

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/p>\n

The main factor contributing to vaquitas\u2019 endangered status is the widespread use of gill nets in the Gulf of California. These nets, designed to catch as many fish as possible, end up trapping vaquitas, who need to be able to swim to the surface for air.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, though, conservation groups and government agencies have been working tirelessly to help vaquitas get their numbers back up. They\u2019ve been putting regulations in place to stop gill fishing and doing yearly surveys to assess vaquita populations.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the vaquita research groups were concerned when they didn\u2019t observe any new vaquita babies. This year, however, was a different story.<\/p>\n

Scientists were delighted when they spotted Frida, a female vaquita known for her bent dorsal fin, with a baby.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s named after the famous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, because even though she\u2019s wounded, she\u2019s very important to Mexico,\u201d Barbara Taylor, vaquita expert, said in a video for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Frida and her calf are a sign that conservation efforts are working. Frida\u2019s baby represents a glimmer of hope for their species.<\/p>\n

Frida\u2019s baby seems to be about a year old and appears to be thriving. Frida herself is one of the largest vaquitas ever observed, which indicates that she\u2019s strong and flourishing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see that they\u2019re very healthy-looking animals,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society<\/p>\n

The researchers noted something else remarkable about Frida: She looks like she\u2019s pregnant. This time next year, there could be yet another vaquita baby swimming around the Gulf of California.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a miracle, these survivors that are here,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

\"Boater<\/a>Boater Comes Face To Face With Rare Speckled Animal On River’s Edge<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Everyone\u2019s heard of blue whales and bottlenose dolphins. But have you ever heard of vaquitas? In the warm…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[54948,64,63,341,75,128,156,339,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-316749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-alana-francis-crow","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-daily-dodo","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-standard","15":"tag-the-dodo","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}