Race to save rare porpoise facing extinction ‘with only 40 animals left’

Conservationists are battling to save a rare porpoise which is facing ‘imminent extinction’ – with only 40 specimens surviving.

The vaquita porpoise is a tiny snub-nosed porpoise that lives in the Gulf of California – and Mexico’s government has enlisted three trained dolphins to try and save the animal.

It’s under threat because of gillnet fishing for shrimp and totoaba, a popular delicacy in Asia.

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The three dolphins ‘will be released in September in the Gulf and they will help us locate where the vaquitas are’ Mexico’s environment minister, Rafael Pacchiano, said on Monday.

Experts will then help capture the vaquita, which Pacchiano said numbered fewer than 40 in the wild, and transport them to a marine sanctuary that Mexico’s government is planning to establish in the Sea of Cortez.

Once inside a penned-off area to ward off natural predators, the experts will help them reproduce.

‘The only hope that vaquita has is this program we’ve announced,’said Pacchiano, adding that the government will seek the financial support of different organizations for the $4 million (£3.1 million) project, such as one run by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

The government has already put up $3 million (£2.3m).