The vaquita is the world's most endangered marine mammal with fewer than 20 individuals remaining; gill net entanglement is driving it to extinction despite emergency conservation efforts.
The vaquita's situation represents one of conservation's most acute welfare and ethical crises - a species on the brink of extinction due to human activity, where every individual's survival matters enormously. Vaquitas that become entangled in gill nets drown - a prolonged, distressing death. The failure of the captive rescue attempt demonstrates how poorly we understand these elusive animals and how irreplaceable wild populations are.