The vaquita is about 5 feet long and is one of the smallest members of the dolphin, whale, and porpoise family. Females are longer than males, but males have larger fins. Vaquitas have small, strong bodies with a rounded head and no beak.
This begs the inquiry “What is the size of a vaquita?”
One source stated that Vaquita means “little cow” in Spanish. The vaquita measures about 5 feet long (the females are slightly larger than the males) and weighs no more than 100 pounds. They’re the smallest of all porpoises, with chunky bodies and rounded heads.
Description of the Vaquita This comparatively tiny marine mammal is four and a half feet long on average, and only slightly longer than your average golden retriever from nose to tail! These torpedo-shaped marine mammals are dark gray, with a light or white underbelly, and large dark patches around each eye.
You could be asking “How much does a vaquita weigh?”
My answer is the vaquita generally reaches a length of about 144 cm (4.7 ft.). Mature males tend to be smaller than females. The largest vaquita ever measured was a mature female that was 1.5 m (5 ft.) long. Weight Adults weigh up to 46.5 kg (102.3 lbs.); newborn calves weigh more than 7.5 kg (17 lbs.) Diet .
How many vaquita are there?
Vaquita now number as few as ten animals. The vaquita is about 5 feet long and is one of the smallest members of the dolphin, whale, and porpoise family. Females are longer than males, but males have larger fins.
World map providing approximate representation of the vaquita’s range. Vaquitas can live for at least 21 years. Pregnancy lasts about 10 to 11 months, and females are thought to give birth every other year to a single calf that is about 2.5 feet long and 16 pounds.
What does a vaquita eat?
Vaquitas feed on small fish, crustaceans (such as shrimp), and cephalopods (such as squid and octopuses). The vaquita has the smallest geographical range of any marine mammal. It only lives in the northern part of the Gulf of California in Mexico.
You could be asking “What do vaquitas eat?”
One answer was vaquitas are carnivorous animals. They eat a variety of smaller animals including fish, squid, and other crustaceans. However, they are largely known to prey on sharks with sharks being their favorite food to eat. Being the smallest marine animal in the world, vaquitas are also the smallest cetacean in the ocean.
What kind of face does a vaquita have?
The vaquita’s unique facial markings of a black ring around each eye and black curved lips have been compared to a smiling panda. They are dark gray on their dorsal (top) surface with pale gray sides and a white underside with light gray markings.
Vaquitas are very cute. They look like dolphins and are also very small and round which adds to their appearance. They look like other porpoises but are the smallest porpoise in the marine waters and in the wildlife come across as very visually appealing marine mammals.
Its top—the dorsal surface—is dark gray, its sides are pale gray, and its underside—the ventral surface—is white with long, light gray markings. Newborn vaquita have darker coloration and a wide gray fringe of color that runs from the head to the flukes, passing through the dorsal and pectoral fins.