Category: species page

Vaquita Porpoise

Vaquita

Found, only in the Gulf of California in Baja California, Mexico. Males grow to 140cm and females grow to 150cm.

It is critically endangered, largely as a result of many getting caught in gillnets which result in bycatch. It is clear that these nets should be banned but it is happening too slow.

Its name comes from Spanish and means little cow. It can clearly be identified from the other porpoises which share its range.

In 2022, it was estimated that just 10 remained in the wild, and unfortunately they continue to be caught by mistake. Unfortunately, the future of this species is not good.

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Spectacled porpoise

Spectacled Porpoise

This is a small to mid-sized porpoise found in the Southern ocean. It is a species with some of the least study, thought largely as a result of the incredible isolation.

The majority of what we know, has come from stranded animals, and the few sightings that have occured. The have no beak. It has small pectoral fins with rounded tips positioned far forward on the body, and a triangular dorsal fin. Males have larger and rounder dorsal fins.

It is thought to be found around the southern pole, from Patagonia, South Georgia, New Zealand.

Population size is unknown given how rarely they are spotted.

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Yangtze finless porpoise

Also known as Narrow ridged finless dolphin. this is a river dolphin, found only in the Yangtze river of China. Its cousin the Baiji has gone extinct but this species is currently doing better- though not by much, there is only thought to be around 1000 remaining. Unfortunately, this species faces many of the same threats so may be on the same road, but a few decades behind. We must fight for this not to be the case.

The Yangtze River has a large amount of human activity – causing population declines due to pollution, illegal fishing, vessel traffic, and the creation of dams (which splits up the population into smaller groups. Both the Chinese government and various charities are working to halt its slip towards extinction. Bycatch is also a significant, with a variety of banned fishing tools such as gillnets still in use.

They are highly opportunistic feeders, which likely explains significant differences in their diet at different times of the year.

There are 5 reserves that have been created, and activities in these areas are heavily controlled which will hopefully give at least small areas from which the porpoise can survive – time will tell.

Narrow-ridged (or East Asian) finless porpoise

Narrow ridged (east Asian) finless Porpoise

This species is native to the East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and the seas around Japan. The Yangtze finless was originally thought to be a subspecies of this porpoise, though further study showed its differences to be greater than that (hence it now being recognized as a separate species). The east asian finless porpoise is a subspecies of the narrow ridged finless porpoise (the above picture is one of these).

Growing to 2.27m at most, and 72kg, though most are smaller.

They generally stay in water 50m deep or less, and mostly stay close to shore (though not always – it has been spotted over 100km from land).

The biggest threat to them is habitat degradation and pollution. The population has fallen by 50% in the last 3 generations.

They have been kept in captivity in Japan, Indonesia and China. A total of 94 are thought to have been held. Unfortunately these do not live long, and of all of the pregnancies that have occurred in captivity, only 2 resulted in a love birth and this did not survive for long.

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Indo-Pacific finless porpoise

Indo-Pacific Finless dolphin

 They are found in most of the Indian Ocean, as well as the tropical and subtropical Pacific from Indonesia north to the Taiwan Strait. Overlapping with this species in the Taiwan Strait and replacing it northwards is the East Asian finless porpoise.

They are one of the species protected by the Sundarbans national park, which lies between India and Bangladesh.

Growing to 2.3m at most, and with a weight of up to 72kg (most individuals are far, far, smaller). They eat a wide range of foods from fish and crustations to vegetation such as leaves and rice, and eggs that have been deposited on these leaves.

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Harbour Porpoise

Harbour Porpoise

This is one of the smallest cetaceans, which spends the majority of its time in estuaries and harbours – though it will sometimes venture up rivers, and have been found 100km from the coast.

They get their name from an anglicized version of the french word Porpois. This in turn comes from a medieval Latin amalgamation of two word – these are porcus (pig) and Piscus (fish). I think that these names are rather unfair, but still.

Its range is the North Atlantic, North Pacific and the Black sea. The populations are not continuous and as such there is a series of sub-populations that are geographically limited.

They are thought to have a global population of around 700,000, the Baltic sea is the only one which is seriously endangered, and that is the Baltic sea population which is thought to be around 500. Others could become endangered if current trends continue such as the Black sea population which is currently estimated to number around 12,000.

They have to spend a great deal of time looking for food, as they need to eat 7-8% of their bodyweight each day.

Generally, they live 8-13 years although individuals have been recorded living to over 20.

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Dalls Porpoise

Dall's Porpoise

Lying in its own genus of Phocoenoides, the dalls porpoise is found to the west of North America and the East of Asia. The largest porpoise species they can grow to 2.3m and 220kg. Living in fluid groups of 2-10, Males compete for females, and many will guard a single female during the breeding season, in order to be sure that any offspring is theirs.

Females give birth around once every 3 years, with pregnancy lasting 11-12 months. They often ride boats bow-ride, and even will do the same on bigger whales.

They are abundant, in their range, and have a population of around 1 million in the wild.

There is a range of different sub-populations, but given the size of the overall population it should be secure in the long-term. Of course the problem is that this could change fast.

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Burmeister Porpoise

Bermeister Porpoise

First described by Hermann Burmister in 1865, they are thought to have a population that numbers at least in the 10,000s. Found from Peru in the Pacific to Brazil in the Atlantic, while usually found in shallow coastal waters, they have been located 1000m down.

Most photos of this species are of a dead individual. It is black which explains its other name – the black porpoise, though it is thought that they turn black after death and are dark grey beforehand. The underside is lighter, though this is common as it helps with camouflage against the light surface of the water. Usually 1.5m in length and with a weight of 50-75kg, they can be mistaken for the Chilean dolphin, which is a similar size. Their dorsal fin is more triangular and points back rather than up so should not be confused.

They are shy, usually moving away from boats at a high speed. Usually seen in pairs or alone. However, they have been seen in larger groups, with a group spotted off the coast of Chile numbering 50.

Eating Hake, Maceral and Anchovies, which are all species impacted greatly by el nino. Many of the marine mammals in the area starved or struggled until the fish returned.

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Narwhal

Narwhal

Generally, the source of any so called unicorn horns, they have a tooth that can extend more than 3m from their mouths and some have 2. Most recent populations suggest around 170,000, Induit from Canada and Greenland have hunted them for both meat and ivory.

 

They migrate in winter, and much of their food comes from Arctic cod and Greenland Halibut and live around 50 years. Young narwhals are predated by both Polar bears at breathing holes and Greenland sharks.

They are essentially an odd looking species of dolphin. There are around 123,000 individuals, living in 12 different groups in areas around the arctic.

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Beluga Whale

Beluga Whale

Beluga whales are only found in the arctic and sub-arctic oceans. They are one of just 2 species in their family Monodontidae, and are unique in their genus of Delphinapterus. It is also known as the white whale, the sea canary and the Melon-head (though the melon-headed dolphin is a species of its own, so this name may cause some confusion.

Adaptions it has for the Arctic, include the fact that it is white in colour, allowing it to blend into the white world more effectively, and the fact it has no dorsal fin, which allows it to swim very close to the ice sheet above.

Growing up to 5.5m in length and up to 1600kg they are a pretty large dolphin. Generally, living in groups of around 10, in the summer, they group together in their hundreds or thousands.

The worlds population is thought to be around 200,000, Some populations move from the edge of the ice cap, into rivers in warmer areas, while others stay around the ice caps year round. Groups of people in both USA and Russia have hunted them for many centuries.

Hunting is not controlled, and as such the drop in population could happen quite fast. Russia and Greenland have killed enough to drop their local population significantly, though thankfully not Alaska or Canada.

They do also have their natural predators in both the killer whale and the Polar bear.

They are the most commonly kept cetaceans in the world, with around 300 in captivity. Japan, USA, Ukraine, Canada, China and Russia as well as a few more.

There are 22 populations around the world, these vary from 39,000 down to as little as 500. The total population is around 200,000. While this number is large, the number hunted is definitely not sustainable. There is also no care to distinguish the different populations, which suggests that sub-populations could be pushed to extinction without any care.

Below, you will find a clip from a bbc documentary which features this species. Below this, is a list of any mentions that the beluga whale has had on this site. Below this, I will list any opportunities to see this species in the wild. Click on list your wild place, to list yours. It takes just a few minutes, and costs nothing – we only charge a commission on any business we send your way.

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