World's Most Endangered Animals
JAVAN RHINOS Javan rhinos were formerly prevalent throughout Southeast Asia, but their populations have plummeted owing to poaching and habitat destruction. Javan rhinos are one of the rarest rhino species, with just around 75 individuals remaining in the wild on the Indonesian island of Java.
AMUR LEOPARD The Amur leopard is one of the world's rarest large cats, with only around 100 remaining in the wild. Despite the fact that their natural population appears to be steady and growing, both leopard subspecies have been listed as severely endangered since 1996. And there's a solid reason for that: Amur leopards are currently only located in a limited region of Russia's far east and north-eastern China.
SUNDA ISLAND TIGER The Sunda Island tiger, often known as the Sumatran tiger, is the world's smallest tiger subspecies, weighing up to 140kg. For comparison, Amur region tigers are the largest of all big cats, with males weighing up to twice as much as Sunda Island tigers. They are also extremely uncommon, with an estimated population of 600 in the wild, and can only be found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
MOUNTAIN GORILLAS Mountain gorillas are a subspecies of eastern gorillas that occur in two separate groups in high-altitude forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, as well as in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
TAPANULI ORANGUTAN The Tapanuli orangutan is a newly described species of orangutan that was recognised as a separate species in 2017. Only one wild population of Tapanuli orangutans exists, and it is restricted to the tropical forests of the Batang Toru ecosystem on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
YANGTZE FINLESS PORPOISE The Yangtze Finless Porpoise is the only extant freshwater porpoise in the world, making it an outlier in its family. This aquatic animal lives in China's Yangtze River and is classified as a severely endangered species.
BLACK RHINOS Between 1960 and 1995, black rhino populations endured substantial population declines as a result of large-scale hunting. Only about 2% of people survived the previous severe onslaught. Since the 1990s, rhino populations in Africa have more than doubled due to conservation efforts. The IUCN lists black rhinos as severely endangered, with around 5,630 animals remaining in the wild.
AFRICAN FOREST ELEPHANT The secretive forest elephant, one of two African elephant species, may be found deep in the lush, humid woods of West and Central Africa. Due to their reclusive nature, the real number of wild African forest elephants is unknown, but we do know that they are a critically endangered species that has dropped by an estimated 86% in the last 31 years.
SUMATRAN ORANGUTAN The Sumatran orangutan can only be found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The IUCN now lists them as severely endangered, with less than 14,000 individuals remaining in the wild.
HAWKSBILL TURTLES The Hawksbill turtle is one of seven marine turtle species that may be found in nearshore tropical and subtropical seas of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Their population is estimated to be between 20,000 and 23,000 nesting turtles, though it is difficult to estimate their true population size because marine turtles are true ocean wanderers.