SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego Natural History Museum and SeaWorld San Diego have partnered with researchers at the Florida Atlantic University to scan the skeleton of a rare endangered marine mammal, the vaquita.
According to a release from SeaWorld San Diego Tuesday, the vaquita — which means “little cow” in Spanish — is the world’s smallest porpoise and most endangered marine mammal.
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Experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said vaquitas have the smallest range of any whale, dolphin or porpoise since they only live in the northern part of the Gulf of California.
The population of vaquitas have dropped from about 600 in 1997 to less than 10 to date, experts said. The decline in the population is caused by vaquitas getting caught in illegal gillnets used to fish totoaba, which is also an endangered species, the release stated…