International Save the Vaquita Day – Saturday, July11, 2015 This year,Saturday, July 11, 2015 has been designated as the Third International Save theVaquita Day!! This is intended to be anannual event similar to Earth Day, but with a specific focus on raisingawareness and appreciation of the world’s most endangered marine mammal, thevaquita (Phocoena sinus). Eventsaround the globe will direct the attention of people to the plight of this tinyporpoise species, and what needs to be done to save it from extinction. There will be booths, games, music, free prizes, educational brochures, talks,face painting, and several life-size models of vaquitas on hand to drawattention to and appreciation of the vaquita, Mexico’s “Panda of the Sea”. The primarygoal is to make as many people as possible aware of the vaquita and its plight,and spur them to act. The species is nearly extinct, with only about 50-80individuals left, and is declining at about 20-30% per year! We will havea simple message for folks about what they can do to help (support for theMexican Government’s gillnet ban, but pressure that the ban needs to bepermanent). The event is designed to be fun, as well as educational, andkid-friendly! This year,there will be over 21 venues, in the United States, Mexico, Austria, and HongKong. We also hope to attract media attention, so that the vaquita iscovered on national and local news, thereby greatly expanding the number ofpeople exposed. Please checkour website regularly<http://www.vivavaquita.org/international-save-the-vaquita-day.html> tolearn the latest on the activities planned and venue details. We hope you will attend (or better yet,volunteer at) an event in your area. Please support efforts to save the vaquita from extinction! Tom Jefferson/ VIVA Vaquita