By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2020

First published n Vita Brevis’ 2021 Poetry AnthologyBrought to Sight & Swept Away

Perhaps it is the self-inflicted nature of it,
brought about by greed and corruption,
that makes the impending extinction of 
the world’s smallest porpoise so painful;

Perhaps it is their piercing eyes 
and sun-soaked bodies radiating joyous freedom 
as they leap playfully through subtropical waters
emoting in a hauntingly human way;

Perhaps it is the senselessness of 
their being caught in nets intended for
tortoaba, another endangered species,
illegally harvested for their bladders and 
trafficked to China for supposed healing powers;

Perhaps it is the stunning beauty and fragility of their habitat,
the translucent Sea of Cortez, teeming with over 900 species 
and heralded by Jacques Cousteau as “the world’s aquarium”,
the smallest habitat of any marine mammal in the wild;

Perhaps it is the sense of desperation 
triggered by the stunning decline 
of this treasured cetacean 
from over five hundred to fewer than fifteen 
within the span of twenty years;

Perhaps it is an appreciation of 
the enormity of the task confronted by
teams of researchers, conservation groups, journalists, 
bureaucrats, navies and even movie producers as they 
confront rampant ignorance, corruption, poverty, 
opportunism and avarice in an uphill battle 
without a moment to waste;

Perhaps it is the sobering realization that the
only solution is to preserve them in the wild 
given the abandonment of a high-profile
project by conservation groups and Mexican government 
following the death and near-death 
of both captured creatures 
placed in a live-ocean sea pen;

Whatever it is that has rattled the consciences of 
millions of people in Mexico, the U.S., China and around the world, 
the plight of vaquita porpoises has unfolded 
on center stage in a global play that tragically
may be entering its final act.