Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation. A loss of habitat can happen naturally. Human activity can also contribute to a loss of habitat. Development for housing, industry, and agriculture reduces the habitat of native organisms.

Species with high variance in the intrinsic rate of population increase (r), which is often associated with high fecundity, moderate to low survival rates, short generation times, and small body size, are predicted to be more susceptible to extinction because they are prone to large stochastic population fluctuations ( …

Many rare and/or endemic species exhibit one or more of the following attributes which make them especially prone to extinction: (1) narrow (and single) geographical range, (2) only one or a few populations, (3) small population size and little genetic variability, (4) over-exploitation by people, (5) declining …

A species considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

A healthy Vaquita population would support the Gulf of California’s ecosystems by balancing the populations of other species in an interdependent food web. Vaquitas are indirectly threatened by illegal wildlife crime. This means they are negatively impacted by the trade in another endangered species—the Totoaba.

It has the most restricted distribution of any cetacean. Physical Description: Mexican shrimp fishermen have reported and described several specimens taken accidentally in their nets (see photos). There is no beak, and the blowhole is situated well to the left of the forehead.

The Vaquita is a small harbor porpoise native to a very small area in the extreme northern part of the Gulf of California, Mexico. It is the smallest known Cetacean (whale, dolphin, or porpoise) alive today, reaching lengths of only 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5 m) and weights of not much more than 100 pounds (45 kg).

Gulf of California