The World Wildlife Fund and the National Jaguar Conservation Alliance have announced the heartening results of a study led by Mexican scientist Gerardo Ceballos — there are 20 percent more jaguars in Mexico than in 2010.
That’s excellent news for the biggest wildcat in the Americas and for the health of the ecosystems it inhabits.
The news is not so good, however, for the vaquita porpoise, which is moving ever-closer to extinction.
Endemic to the Sea of Cortes and the most threatened marine mammal on Earth, the vaquita’s plight is the subject of an exhibition at a Mexico City museum.
Scientists believe that very little time is left before the future of the vaquita is lost to the nets of the illegal fishing industry.
Sources: Phys.org (United Kingdom), La Jornada (Mexico)