The World’s Most Endangered Species;

(In no particular order).

The Asiatic Lion.

The Asiatic Lion also known as the Indian Lion, Persian Lion and Eurasian Lion is a subspecies of Lion. The only place in the wild where the Lion is found is in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India. In 2010, the Gujarat government reported that 411 Asiatic Lions were sighted in the Gir forest; a rise of 52 over the last census of 2005.

The Asiatic Lion is one of the five major big cats found in India, the others being the Bengal Tiger, the Indian Leopard, the Snow Leopard and Clouded Leopard. The Asiatic Lions once ranged from the Mediterranean to the north-eastern parts of the Indian subcontinent, but excessive hunting, water pollution and decline in natural prey reduced their habitat.

The World’s Most Endangered Species;

(In no particular order).

Malayan Tapir.

The Malayan Tapir, also called the Asian Tapir, is the largest of the four species of Tapir and the only one native to Asia. The scientific name refers to the East Indies, the species’ natural habitat. In the Malay language, the Tapir is commonly referred to as “cipan”, “tenuk” or “badak tampong”. The Malayan Tapir was once found throughout the tropical lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Vietnam. However, its numbers have decreased in recent years, and today, like all Tapirs, it is in danger of extinction. Because of their size, tapirs have few natural predators, and even reports of killings by tigers are scarce. The main threat to the Malayan tapirs is human activity, including deforestation for agricultural purposes, flooding caused by the damming of rivers for hydroelectric projects, and illegal trade.

The World’s Most Endangered Species;

(In no particular order).

Przewalski’s Horse.

Przewalski’s Horse or Dzungarian Horse, is a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horse native to the steppes of central Asia, specifically China and Mongolia. At one time extinct in the wild, it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia at the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve and Khomiin Tal. The taxonomic position is still debated, and some taxonomists treat Przewalski’s Horse as a species. In China, the last wild Przewalski’s horses were seen in 1966.

The World’s Most Endangered Species;

(In no particular order).

The Nukupu’u.

The Nukupuʻu is a critically endangered species of Hawaiian Honeycreeper in the Fringillidae family. There are no recent confirmed sighting records and it may be extinct or functionally extinct. Its habitat is dense mesic and wet forests of ōhia lehua and koa at altitudes of 3,300–6,600 feet. The last sightings - both on Kauai and Maui - were in 1998, though it is possible some of the sighting in the 1990s actually involve the Kauai Amakihi. Later sightings remain unconfirmed. Recent surveys have failed to locate the species and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that it in all probability is extinct or functionally extinct. BirdLife International (and thereby IUCN) have chosen to retain its status as critically endangered until additional surveys have confirmed its extinction beyond reasonable doubts. As several other Hawaiian Honeycreeper, the decline of the Nukupu’u is connected to habitat loss (both due to man and hurricanes), introduced predators and disease-carrying mosquitoes.

The World’s Most Endangered Species;

(In no particular order).

The Sumatran Rhinoceros.

The Sumatran Rhinoceros is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It is the smallest within the rhinoceros family. Like the African species, it has two horns; the larger is the nasal horn, while the other horn is typically a stub. A coat of reddish-brown hair covers most of the Sumatran Rhino’s body.
Members of the species once inhabited rainforests, swamps and cloud forests in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. In historical times they lived in southwest China, particularly in Sichuan. They are now critically endangered, with only six substantial populations in the wild: four on Sumatra, one on Borneo, and one in the Malay Peninsula. Their numbers are difficult to determine because they are solitary animals that are widely scattered across their range, but they are estimated to number fewer than 275. The decline in the number of Sumatran Rhinoceros is attributed primarily to poaching for their horns, which are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine.

The World’s Most Endangered Species;

(In no particular order).

The Axolotl.

The Axolotl is aneotenic mole Salamander belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex. This extraordinary species, which persists in a larval stage throughout its life, is restricted to an area of less than 10 square kilometres around Xochimilco on the southern edge of Mexico City. Whilst there are large numbers of Axolotls in captivity around the world, the wild population is extremely small. The most significant threat to the Axolotl is the increasing pollution of lakes and canals as Mexico City continues to grow. The capture of this species for research and the pet trade contributed to population declines, but the Axolotl now breeds well in captivity thus alleviating this threat. Conservation efforts for the Axolotl are focusing on raising the profile of Lake Xochimilco through conservation education and a nature tourism initiative, alongside work on habitat restoration. In addition, there are several captive colonies around the world, which may eventually provide opportunities for re-introductions of the Axolotl to parts of its historical range, once the main threats have been addressed.

The World’s Most Endangered Species;

(In no particular order).

The Brown Spider Monkey.

The Brown Spider Monkey or Variegated Spider Monkey is a critically endangered species of Spider Monkey, a type of New World Monkey, from northern Colombia and north-western Venezuela. Its taxonomic history has been confusing, and in the past it has been treated as a subspecies of either the Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey or the White-Fronted Spider Monkey. Like all spider monkeys, it has very long, spindly limbs and a lengthy prehensile tail which can almost be called a fifth limb. It is one of the largest primates in the Amazon, however unfortunately the Brown Spider Monkey reproduces too slowly to recover from the heavy toll of countless shotguns.

The World’s Most Endangered Species;

(In no particular order).

The Philippine Eagle.

The Philippine Eagle is a giant forest raptor endemic to the Philippines. It is considered one of the largest and most powerful eagles in the world. Unfortunately, it is also one of the world’s rarest and certainly among its most critical endangered vertebrate species. The eagle is known to be geographically restricted to the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. As with so many other animal species, the main threat facing the Philippine Eagle is the relentless destruction of its habitat. Every year some of the remaining primary forest on the islands is felled for timber: The Great Dipterocarp (tall hardwood) trees growing there are a major source of tropical timber for the rest of the world. When the loggers leave, settlers who practice “slash-and-burn” cultivation frequently move in. Slash-and-burn agriculture produces poor-quality, weed-infested grassland with bamboo or other scrub in place of a rich forest and is of little value to the eagles.