In order to protect the estimated 30 Vaquita Marina living in the wild, a program was set up to capture the elusive mammal.
The program was meant to keep the endangered porpoise in a special holding area near San Felipe, Mexico, located in the upper Gulf of California.
The program was considered risky at the outset. Two Vaquita, an adult female and six month old, were captured. The female died from the stress of the captivity. The younger Vaquita was released back into the wild.
As of November 10th, the program has been officially ended by the environmental agency SEMARNAT. The stress on the captured animals looked to be too severe.
As of yet, there is no world of what will be the next step in protecting the endangered Vaquita Marina.