Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff. Lauren bogabam here. Jacques Cousteau, renowned sea explorer
Speaker 1: and scuba pioneer, spent decades exploring oceans and rivers all
Speaker 1: across the globe, but few places could match the rich
Speaker 1: biodiversity of the Gulf of California, a narrow seven hundred
Speaker 1: mile long sea that's about eleven kilometers that separates the
Speaker 1: Baja California Peninsula from mainland Mexico. Custo affectionately called it
Speaker 1: the World's aquarium due to its remarkable array of marine species.
Speaker 1: But today the underwater masterpieces in critical danger of losing
Speaker 1: one of its unique denizens forever, and scientists can't emphasize
Speaker 1: enough just how truly dire the situation has become for
Speaker 1: one of the world's most adorable mammals. The total number
Speaker 1: of Bikita, a small porpoise endemic to the Gulf of California,
Speaker 1: has windled down to just around ten as of this recording,
Speaker 1: making the Wikita the world's most endangered marine mammal. While
Speaker 1: not all hope is lost for their survival, it hinges
Speaker 1: on immediate action for the Mexican government and local fishers.
Speaker 1: The Wikita is the world's smallest cetacean, which is the
Speaker 1: order of aquatic mammals that includes whales, purpoises, and dolphins.
Speaker 1: They only grow up to five feet that's one and
Speaker 1: a half meters in length, and weigh in at no
Speaker 1: more than twenty pounds or about fifty five kilos. Their
Speaker 1: faces look like an adorable porpoise emoji, with black rings
Speaker 1: around their eyes and lips that give the impression of
Speaker 1: a perpetual grin. Vikita means little cow in Spanish. The
Speaker 1: locals likely chose the name because the porpoises facial markings
Speaker 1: have a bovine resemblance. The scientists are unsure of whether
Speaker 1: the markings serve a purpose. Vikitas have a rounded head
Speaker 1: and spade shaped teeth and no beak. Despite their small stature,
Speaker 1: their triangular dorsal fin is larger than that of many
Speaker 1: other porpoises, most likely to help them lower their body
Speaker 1: temperature in their warm water habitat. If you've never heard
Speaker 1: of the wikida, it's quite possibly due to the fact
Speaker 1: that they were only first identified and studied in the
Speaker 1: mid twentieth century and seemed to be quite shy even
Speaker 1: though they inhabit waters relatively close to shore and don't
Speaker 1: often swim deeper than nine ft or thirty meters, they've
Speaker 1: only come to the surface every few minutes for three
Speaker 1: seconds at a time, and tend to stay in small
Speaker 1: groups away from motorized boats. Many endangered species are dying
Speaker 1: off due to some combination of habitat loss, pollution, or disease,
Speaker 1: but the Wikidas demise stems from something much more simple
Speaker 1: that could be much more easily remedied. For the article,
Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke by
Speaker 1: email with Sarah Yuhleman, the International Program Director and Senior
Speaker 1: attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. She said the
Speaker 1: key faces a single threat entanglement in fishing gear set
Speaker 1: to catch shrimp and a giant fish called the totohaba. Historically,
Speaker 1: most of the shrimp cought in the wikita's habitat was
Speaker 1: shipped to the US market. The totoabas swim bladder is
Speaker 1: consumed mostly in China, where it's believed to have medicinal properties.
Speaker 1: The Wikita's population has declined by in the last thirty years,
Speaker 1: entirely because of entanglement and deadly fishing nets, So why
Speaker 1: don't fishers and local governments step up and stop the
Speaker 1: detrimental fishing in the area. It all comes down to money.
Speaker 1: Totaaba's fish bladder, depending on its weight and other factors,
Speaker 1: is reported to bring in anywhere from two thousand dollars
Speaker 1: to more than thirty thousand, creating a lucrative and thriving
Speaker 1: black market. So does the Wikita have a chance of survival?
Speaker 1: Many endangered species struggle with the genetic effects of inbreeding
Speaker 1: once their population reaches such a small size, but there
Speaker 1: is some good news for the Kita. How Stuff Works
Speaker 1: also spoke by email with Barbara Taylor, the lead Wikita
Speaker 1: researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAH.
Speaker 1: As she said, even though there are only around ten remaining,
Speaker 1: we have evidence that they're not threatened by genetic factors.
Speaker 1: These survivors and their calves need protection from gill nets
Speaker 1: by guarding the small area where they remain and ensuring
Speaker 1: there's no gillnet fishing of any kind there. Yulman said,
Speaker 1: we're at the end of the line for the Wikita.
Speaker 1: For decades, the Mexican public, scientists and conservationists have pleaded
Speaker 1: with the Mexican government to finally protect the Wikita. Mexico
Speaker 1: has the right laws in place. It is illegal to
Speaker 1: fish with deadly gillnets in the vikita's habitat, but the
Speaker 1: Mexican government lacks the will to enforce its own law,
Speaker 1: and just last week dozens of boats were documented fishing
Speaker 1: illegally within the vikita's habitat. Mexico must crack down and
Speaker 1: end illegal fishing now or will lose the Wikita forever.
Speaker 1: There's an additional factor that makes enforcing the law the
Speaker 1: only viable option for the Wikidas survival. Captive breeding has
Speaker 1: proven too difficult and too risky with the Wikida, Taylor explained,
Speaker 1: the two wakedas captured responded poorly to handling, with one
Speaker 1: released with signs of stress and the second that died.
Speaker 1: Capture myopathy, in which muscle damage results from extreme exertion, struggle,
Speaker 1: or stress, is common in mammals, but with only ten
Speaker 1: individuals remaining, veterinarians didn't feel they could afford to learn
Speaker 1: how to stop the cascade of stress resulting in death,
Speaker 1: and such learning needs to happen when there are hundreds
Speaker 1: or thousands of individuals, not tens. The wikida is a
Speaker 1: true treasure of the sea that, while in great danger,
Speaker 1: can be saved with swift action. It's common to feel
Speaker 1: powerless to affect change, but you can help save the
Speaker 1: wikita through your support of various organizations that are leading
Speaker 1: urgent conservation efforts, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders
Speaker 1: of Wildlife, and the World Wildlife Fund. The Porpoise Conservation
Speaker 1: Society even offers a way to feel that direct connection.
Speaker 1: You can symbolically adopt a vikita and help give them
Speaker 1: a chance to swim the seeds for years to come.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article with fewer than
Speaker 1: ten left, can the Wakita b Say? On house to
Speaker 1: works dot com, written by Katie Carmen. Green Stuff is
Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio in partnership with hows toff
Speaker 1: works dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Clang.
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