Only 10 of the small silver porpoises are left on the planet, but genetic studies offer new hope.
"Our study very clearly shows that the vaquita has a really good chance of avoiding extinction, if we are able to protect it, by removing the gillnets from its habitat," said study researcher, Dr Jacqueline Robinson of the University of California, San Francisco.
Some had given up on saving the vaquita, thinking that even if the species could be protected from fishing pressures, the health effects of in-breeding would wipe it out. "They have a very high chance of making it over the next 50 years, if they receive complete protection," said Dr Robinson. Because the species has been rare for a long time, with naturally low levels of genetic variation, the risks from in-breeding are reduced, the researchers say. And they believe there are lessons for other endangered species, such as those living on islands or with a limited range.
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