'Sea panda', a rare planetary dolphin about to be eradicated next year

Surely many people have never seen this lovely creature before because they are extremely rare. Scientists estimate that there are currently only about 30 Vaquita dolphins left in the wild. And maybe this rare mammal will become extinct in 2018 if not strictly protected.

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The Vaquita dolphin is found only in the Gulf of Northern California and their numbers are also sharply reduced by 90% in less than 6 years.

'Sea panda', a rare planetary dolphin about to be eradicated next year Picture 1
A Vaquita dolphin in adulthood was captured by Greenpeace.

The Vaquita dolphin, also known as Phocoena sinus, is a dolphin that is among the most endangered whale species in the world. Vaquita is not only the rarest dolphin, but it is also the smallest dolphin, with an average body size of 134.9 cm for an adult male and 140.6 cm for the female.

It was not until 1958 that scientists discovered them. This dolphin is dubbed the "panda of the sea" because they possess a very special head, each side of the eye has a black circle around, the mouth also has black curves.

'Sea panda', a rare planetary dolphin about to be eradicated next year Picture 2
An extremely lucky picture of a couple of Vaquita in nature.

In 1997, the individual number of Vaquita dolphins was about 567, but after 10 years their number was only about 150. Currently, according to the new Green Peace report, only less than 30 Vaquita dolphins survive in nature.

According to the researchers, the main reason for the current state of the dolphin Vaquita is the type of fishing net commonly used on Pangas - the fishing boats have a doubling number in the Gulf of California between 1993 and 2007.

'Sea panda', a rare planetary dolphin about to be eradicated next year Picture 3
A Vaquita was injured by catching fishermen's nets.

This type of net is very long, with small meshes, which makes anything swim through can be a victim. It is estimated that this type of net accidentally killed about 700,000 mammals and birds worldwide every year.