As the population of the diminutive Mexican porpoise called the vaquita has plunged over the past few years, scientists have grown increasingly gloomy about the prospects for its survival. But in the past few weeks, their outlook for the vaquita, Mexico’s only endemic marine mammal, has suddenly brightened. The reason for their optimism, quite simply, is that they’ve begun seeing vaquitas—as many as 25 sightings in three weeks. The early results of a 10-week marine expedition across the vaquita’s habitat in the northern reaches of the Gulf of California to estimate how many are left have been more encouraging than many had dared hope. “I was very concerned that we would come out here and see nothing,” says Barbara Taylor, a marine mammal... [Log in to read more]