My name is Vaquita 97. Few people have heard of me and fewer people have seen me. In order for you to imagine me, I’ll say I look like a dolphin but smaller, I’m a marine porpoise.
Some say I could be a panda of the sea, because I have black circles around my eyes and my mouth, which, and forgive my boldness, makes me one of the most beautiful animals on the planet.
But I'm not here to talk about my beauty. My situation is critical because I belong to the world's most endangered marine mammals. 
My habitat, the "Golfo de California," Mexico is increasingly dangerous for my species. For many years the area has been affected by illegal fishing and despite attempts to protect me, many of my friends and family have died trapped in fishing nets.
In just two years, half of the vaquitas have disappeared, now only 97 of us remain. If this continues, we could all disappear in three years, and I fear that the next one could be me.
Therefore I ask for your support to make everyone aware of my problem in order to protect me. I know many think it's impossible, but I am convinced that together we can achieve it.
I don't have a voice, however you have one and you can help me. With your signature you can pressure the Mexican government to protect my home and declare it a Marine Reserve to avoid my extinction. This will help protect the entire ecosystem of the area, and serve as an example to protect the oceans around the world.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
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