Online Sliding puzzle for kids - Vaquita

Online Brain games for kids - Sliding puzzle on an endangered species, Vaquita, will enrich the general knowledge of your child while sharpening her / his analytical skills in a fun manner. 

INSTRUCTIONS TO PLAY THIS ONLINE SLIDING PUZZLE

STEP1 - Click one of the tiles closest to the empty space to slide it into the empty space.

TIPS TO SOLVE THIS ONLINE SLIDING PUZZLE

• Most tile sliding puzzles are made up of three rows of three tiles each.Try to get one of the three rows lined up properly regarding tile order anywhere in the puzzle. For example, get the three tiles that go on the bottom row in order, even at the top of the puzzle.
• Keep this row together as you Consider each piece carefully and try to figure out where it will go in the puzzle. This will help you as you manipulate them into the right place and as you line them up in rows of three.slide the tiles and it will be easier to solve the problem.
• One of the hardest parts of solving a sliding puzzle is preventing future moves from ruining previous slides. There is nothing more frustating than having to move a new tile in a way that messes up all that you have done before. To prevent this, try to thing ahead and consider what will happen several moves in the future each time you slide a tile.

Vaquita, the world’s most rare marine mammal, is on the edge of extinction. This little porpoise wasn't discovered until 1958 and a little over half a century later, we are on the brink of losing them forever. Vaquita are often caught and drowned in gillnets used by illegal fishing operations in marine protected areas within Mexico's Gulf of California. The population has dropped drastically in the last few years.

The vaquita has a large dark ring around its eyes and dark patches on its lips that form a thin line from the mouth to the pectoral fins. Its dorsal surface is dark gray, sides pale gray and ventral surface white with long, light gray markings. Newborn vaquita have darker coloration and a wide gray fringe of color that runs from the head to the dorsal flukes, passing through the dorsal and pectoral fins. They are most often found close to shore in the Gulf's shallow waters, although they quickly swim away if a boat approaches.

Why are they endangered?

The vaquita will be extinct, possibly by 2018, if fishery bycatch is not eliminated immediately. Nearly one out of every five vaquita get entangled and drown in gillnets intended for other marine species like the totoaba, a critically endangered fish also found in the upper Gulf of California. Entanglement in gillnets set for totoaba was the primary cause that brought the vaquita to low levels by the mid-1970s. Totoaba were overfished by the mid-1970s and were listed as endangered by Mexico in 1975, and by the US in 1979. 

Today, international trade in totoaba is banned under CITES but high demand from China for its swim bladder has led to a corresponding boom in illegal totoaba fishing in the past few years. Thousands of swim bladders are dried and smuggled out of Mexico, often through the United States. Fishermen receive around $4,000 for each pound of totoaba swim bladder, equivalent to half a year’s income from legal fishing activities. It is this illegal trade that is currently driving the precipitous decline in vaquita numbers.