Only 250 of world's most endangered marine mammal now exist

London, June 9 (ANI): The vaquita - found only in the waters of the northern end of the Gulf of California, where the Baja peninsula joins the rest of Mexico - is losing the race against time. The rare porpoise, the world's most endangered marine mammal, is almost on the verge of extinction due to pollution, ship traffic and fishing.

Drawing on data collected in 2008 during an acoustic survey researchers now estimate that only 250 individuals of the species remain, a drop of 56 per cent in just over a decade.

"This information shows we don't have a lot of time to save the vaquita," Nature quoted Timothy Ragen, executive director of the Marine Mammal Commission in Bethesda, Maryland, which part-funded the survey, as saying.

The finding was presented at a recent meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Agadir, Morocco. (ANI)