The Mighty Vaquita

Vaquita

I chose this animal because it is a rare species and not your everyday whale or dolphin.

By Emily Bessen

1Vaquitas Habitat

Vaquitas live in the Northern part of the Gulf of California. The high water temperature is 68F the low is 23F. Between 15 and 50 inches of rain fall per year. There are two seasons hot and cool. In the hot seasons air temperatures get over 100F, in the cool season they are in the 60s.

2Vaquitas FoodVaquitas eat demersal and benthic fishes and squids. The vaquita is a carnivore.

3PredatorsFishermen using gill nets sometimes catch vaquitas (hominids)Large sharks (fish)Killer whales (fish)

4Adaptation 1: Warm WaterThe vaquita is the only porpoise that lives in water warmer than 20 degrees Celsius. It has adapted to the warm water.

5Adaptation 2: Large Dorsal FinThe vaquita has an extra large dorsal fin. Biologists think that this allows the vaquita to shed some of its body heat in the warm water of the Gulf of California.

6Adaptation 3: Pale UndersideThe vaquita has a pale underside, like a shark, so it can blend into the water and its prey cannot see it as well against the surface.

7InteractionsVaquitas interact with other fish which fishermen are trying to catch in their gill nets. This is why the vaquitas often get caught in the nets and die.

8Where They LiveThe vaquita lives in the ocean, but only in warm water in the Gulf of California. In fact, the vaquita only lives in an area about 30 miles across in the northern Gulf. The vaquita primarily inhabits shallow, murky and warm waters.

9What If AdaptationIf the water temperature were to decrease 10 degrees Fahrenheit, the vaquita would likely produce more blubber to keep warm and the dorsal fin would likely get smaller.

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