75 Endangered Species of the World

The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is one of two living African elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to 3.96 m (13.0 ft) and a body mass of up to 10.4 t (11.5 short tons). It is distributed across 37 African countries and inhabits forests, grasslands and woodlands, wetlands and agricultural land. Since 2021, it has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is threatened foremost by habitat destruction, and in parts of its range also by poaching for meat and ivory.

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The Asiatic lion is a Panthera leo leo population surviving today only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range is restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat. Historically, it inhabited much of the Middle East to northern India.

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The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It is variously known as the northern bluefin tuna (mainly when including Pacific bluefin as a subspecies), giant bluefin tuna [for individuals exceeding 150 kg (330 lb)], and formerly as the tunny.

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The bonobo, also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and, less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape. It is one of the two species making up the genus Pan, the other being the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Although bonobos are not a subspecies of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), but rather a distinct species in their own right, both species are sometimes referred to collectively using the generalized term chimpanzees, or chimps. Taxonomically, the members of the chimpanzee/bonobo subtribe Panina (composed entirely by the genus Pan) are collectively termed panins.

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The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In 2007, only 19–26 wild leopards were estimated to survive in southeastern Russia and northeastern China. It was considered one of the rarest cats on Earth.As of 2015, fewer than 60 individuals were estimated to survive in Russia and China. Camera-trapping surveys conducted between 2014 and 2015 revealed 92 individuals in an 8,398 km2 (3,242 sq mi) large transboundary area along the Russian-Chinese border.
In 2019, it was reported that the population is close to 90 leopards.Results of genetic research indicate that the Amur leopard is genetically close to leopards in northern China and Korea, suggesting that the leopard population in this region became fragmented in the early 20th century. The North Chinese leopard was formerly recognised as a distinct subspecies P. p. japonensis, but was subsumed under the Amur leopard in 2017.

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The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), also known as the common chimpanzee, or simply chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. The chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo (sometimes called the “pygmy chimpanzee”) are classified in the genus Pan. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that Pan is a sister taxon to the human lineage and is humans’ closest living relative.

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Lepidium banksii, known as coastal peppercress, is a rare species of flowering plant from the family Brassicaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, formerly found around the coast of the northern South Island but now critically endangered.

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The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) is a Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla). It was named a new species in 1904 by Paul Matschie, a mammalian taxonomist working at the Humboldt University Zoological Museum in Berlin, but its populations were not systematically surveyed until 1987.

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The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is a species of orangutan endemic to the island of Borneo. Together with the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), it belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia. Like the other great apes, orangutans are highly intelligent, displaying tool use and distinct cultural patterns in the wild. Orangutans share approximately 97% of their DNA with humans.The Bornean orangutan is a Critically Endangered species, with deforestation, palm oil plantations, and hunting posing a serious threat to its continued existence.

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Hadramphus tuberculatus (known as the Canterbury knobbled weevil, Spaniard weevil or Banks Peninsula speargrass weevil) is a rare weevil endemic to Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand. It was thought to be extinct in 1922 but was rediscovered in 2004.

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The Chesterfield or Kapitia skink (Oligosoma salmo) is a species of skink found in New Zealand. Only discovered in 1994 and for years not recognised as a distinct species, it is endemic to a narrow 1 km strip of coastal vegetation on the West Coast of New Zealand, 15 km north of Hokitika. There are fewer than 200 individuals remaining in the wild. Oligosoma salmo is the only New Zealand skink with a prehensile tail, suggesting it was once arboreal and inhabited coastal forest, which was subsequently cleared for dairy farming. Following the partial destruction of its remaining habitat in 2018 by a cyclone, a small captive breeding population was established at Auckland Zoo.

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The eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) or Grauer’s gorilla is a Critically Endangered subspecies of eastern gorilla endemic to the mountainous forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Important populations of this gorilla live in the Kahuzi-Biega and Maiko National Parks and their adjacent forests, the Tayna Gorilla Reserve, the Usala forest and on the Itombwe Massif.

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The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of cetacean on Earth after the blue whale. The largest reportedly grow to 27.3 m (89.6 ft) long with a maximum confirmed length of 25.9 m (85 ft), a maximum recorded weight of nearly 74 tonnes (73 long tons; 82 short tons), and a maximum estimated weight of around 114 tonnes (112 long tons; 126 short tons). American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale “the greyhound of the sea … for its beautiful, slender body is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship.”

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The Florida panther is a North American cougar (P. c. couguar) population found in South Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks, and mixed freshwater swamp forests.
Males can weigh up to 73 kg (161 lb) and live within a range that includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest, rural communities of Collier County, Florida, Hendry County, Florida, Lee County, Florida, Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Monroe County, Florida. It is the only confirmed cougar population in the eastern United States, and currently occupies 5% of its historic range. In the 1970s, an estimated 20 Florida panthers remained in the wild, but their numbers had increased to an estimated 230 by 2017.In 1982, the Florida panther was chosen as the Florida state animal.

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The Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) is a penguin endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. It is the only penguin found north of the equator. Most inhabit Fernandina Island and the west coast of Isabela Island. The cool waters of the Humboldt and Cromwell Currents allow it to survive despite the tropical latitude. The Galápagos penguin is one of the banded penguins, the other species of which live mostly on the coasts of Africa and mainland South America. It is one of the smallest species of penguin in the world. Because of their warm environment, Galápagos penguins have developed techniques to stay cool. The feathers on their back, flippers, and head are black, and they have a white belly and a stripe looping from their eyes down to their neck and chin. Each penguin keeps only one mate, and breeds year-round. Their nests are typically in caves and crevices as protection against predators and the harsh environment. The Galápagos penguin has a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years, but due to predation, life expectancy in the wild could be significantly reduced.

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The Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Platanistidae. It lives in the Ganges and related rivers of South Asia, namely in the countries of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is related to the much smaller Indus river dolphin which lives in the Indus River in Pakistan.

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The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world. It is fully aquatic and is endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in the Yangtze river basin of central China. Either it or a close relative has been introduced to Kyoto Prefecture in Japan and to Taiwan. It is considered critically endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution, and overcollection, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine. On farms in central China, it is extensively farmed and sometimes bred, although many of the salamanders on the farms are caught in the wild. It has been listed as one of the top-10 “focal species” in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered project. The Chinese giant salamander is considered to be a “living fossil”. Although protected under Chinese law and CITES Appendix I, the wild population has declined by more than an estimated 80% since the 1950s. Although traditionally recognized as one of two living species of Andrias salamander in Asia, the other being the Japanese giant salamander, evidence indicates that the Chinese giant salamander may be composed of at least five cryptic species, further compounding each individual species’ endangerment.

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The giant panda, also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear native to South Central China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name “giant panda” is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda, a neighboring musteloid. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda is a folivore, with bamboo shoots and leaves making up more than 99% of its diet. Giant pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents, or carrion. In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.

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Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos.

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The Gulf sturgeon is a subspecies of sturgeon that lives in the Gulf of Mexico and some rivers draining into it. The Gulf sturgeon was first recognized as a separate subspecies in 1955. The nominate subspecies is the Atlantic sturgeon, A. o. oxyrinchus. The Gulf sturgeon is listed as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act, having been listed in 1991. Critical habitat, reflecting the current range of the subspecies, has been designated. The historical range is thought to have been from the Suwannee River on the western coast of Florida to the Mississippi River, and marine waters of the central and eastern portions of the Gulf of Mexico. Three sturgeon species in genus Scaphirhynchus share river territory with the Gulf sturgeon; none of these is anadromous.

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The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Indo-Pacific subspecies—E. i. imbricata and E. i. bissa, respectively.

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The humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) is a large species of wrasse mainly found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also known as the Māori wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, Napoleon fish, Napoleonfish, so mei 蘇眉 (Cantonese), mameng (Filipino), and merer in the Pohnpeian language of the Caroline Islands.

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The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in discontinuous subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. It closely resembles the Australian snubfin dolphin (of the same genus, Orcaella) and was not described as a separate species until 2005. It has a slate blue to a slate gray color and are a part of genus Orcaella which is also known as snubfin dolphins. Although found in much of the riverine and marine zones of South and Southeast Asia, the only concentrated lagoon populations are found in Chilika Lake in Odisha, India and Songkhla Lake in southern Thailand.

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The Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), also known as the Sunda rhinoceros or lesser one-horned rhinoceros, is a very rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It belongs to the same genus as the Indian rhinoceros, and has similar mosaic, armour-like skin, but at 3.1–3.2 m (10–10 ft) in length and 1.4–1.7 m (4.6–5.6 ft) in height, it is smaller (closer in size to the black rhinoceros of the genus Diceros). Its horn is usually shorter than 25 cm (9.8 in), and is smaller than those of the other rhino species. Only adult males have horns; females lack them altogether.

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The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 2 metres and weights of 600 kg. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named.

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Cardamine douglassii, the limestone bittercress or purple cress, is a perennial forb native to the eastern and central United States as well as the province of Ontario in Canada, that produces white to pink or purple flowers in early spring.

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Agalinis acuta is an annual hemiparasitic plant native to Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Long Island, New York. Common names include sandplain gerardia and sandplain false foxglove. It is one of about 70 species that comprise genus Agalinis. It currently resides within the family Orobanchaceae, but historically was aligned with members of the Scrophulariaceae.

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The blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to 74 to 84 cm (29 to 33 in) high at the shoulder. Males weigh 20–57 kg (44–126 lb), with an average of 38 kg (84 lb). Females are lighter, weighing 20–33 kg (44–73 lb) or 27 kg (60 lb) on average. Males have 35–75 cm (14–30 in) long, ringed horns, though females may develop horns as well. The white fur on the chin and around the eyes is in sharp contrast with the black stripes on the face. The coats of males show a two-tone colouration; while the upper parts and outsides of the legs are dark brown to black, the underparts and the insides of the legs are white. Females and juveniles are yellowish fawn to tan. The blackbuck is the sole living member of the genus Antilope and was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized.

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The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra.

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The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black.

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The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when fully grown.

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The Mississippi gopher frog (Lithobates sevosus), also known commonly as the dark gopher frog, the dusky gopher frog, and the St. Tammany gopher frog, is a critically endangered species of frog in the family Ranidae (true frogs). The species is endemic to the southern United States. Its natural habitats are temperate coastal forests and intermittent freshwater marshes. This secretive frog is on average 3 in (8 cm) long, with a dark brown or black dorsal surface covered in warts.

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The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018. There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in southwest Uganda; Volcanoes, in northwest Rwanda; and Virunga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

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The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is a baleen whale, one of three right whale species belonging to the genus Eubalaena, all of which were formerly classified as a single species. Because of their docile nature, their slow surface-skimming feeding behaviors, their tendencies to stay close to the coast, and their high blubber content (which makes them float when they are killed, and which produced high yields of whale oil), right whales were once a preferred target for whalers.
At present, they are among the most endangered whales in the world, and they are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act and Canada’s Species at Risk Act. There are fewer than 366 individuals in existence in the western North Atlantic Ocean—they migrate between feeding grounds in the Labrador Sea and their winter calving areas off Georgia and Florida, an ocean area with heavy shipping traffic. In the eastern North Atlantic, on the other hand—with a total population reaching into the low teens at most—scientists believe that they may already be functionally extinct. Vessel strikes and entanglement in fixed fishing gear, which together account for nearly half of all North Atlantic right whale mortality since 1970, are their two greatest threats to recovery.

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Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus Pongo, orangutans were originally considered to be one species.

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The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear species, as well as the largest extant land carnivore.

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The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a carnivoran native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because the wild population is estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and continues to decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression. Despite its name, it is not closely related to the giant panda.

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The endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) was formerly very common in the San Joaquin Valley and through much of Central California. Its 1990 population was estimated to be 7,000. This subspecies is still endangered, after nearly 50 years of being on the Endangered Species List. Officially this subspecies was listed March 3, 1967. On September 26, 2007, Wildlands Inc. announced the designation of the 684-acre (2.77 km2) Deadman Creek Conservation Bank, which is intended specifically to protect habitat of the San Joaquin kit fox. However, the population continues to decline mostly due to heavy habitat loss. Other factors include competition from red fox, and the extermination of the gray wolf from California has left the coyote as the dominant meso-predator in kit fox territory bringing an imbalance in ecosystem relationships. Sarcoptic Mange has also constituted a significant threat, specifically to the Bakersfield population of the subspecies, with 15 confirmed cases reported by the end of 2014.

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The saola also called spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid, is one of the world’s rarest large mammals, a forest-dwelling bovine native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. It was described in 1993 following a discovery of remains in Vũ Quang Nature Reserve by a joint survey of the Vietnamese Ministry of Forestry and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

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Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short, thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals, which contains six extant and one extinct species (the Japanese sea lion) in five genera.

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The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg (31 and 99 lb), making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter’s primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter is capable of living exclusively in the ocean.

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The sei whale is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water. The sei whale migrates annually from cool, subpolar waters in summer to temperate, subtropical waters in winter with a lifespan of 70 years.

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Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, flatback sea turtle, and leatherback sea turtle.

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The Siberian tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China, and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, north China, and eastern Mongolia. The population currently inhabits mainly the Sikhote-Alin mountain region in southwest Primorye Province in the Russian Far East.

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The Sumatran orangutan is one of the three species of orangutans. Critically Endangered, and found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than the recently identified Tapanuli orangutan, also found in Sumatra. Its common name is based on two separate local words, “orang” (“people” or “person”) and “hutan” (“forest”), derived from Malay, and translates as ‘person of the forest’.

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The Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) is one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to Sri Lanka. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. The species is primarily threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.

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The Sumatran rhinoceros, also known as the hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros. It is the only extant species of the genus Dicerorhinus. It is the smallest rhinoceros, although it is still a large mammal; it stands 112–145 cm (3.67–4.76 ft) high at the shoulder, with a head-and-body length of 2.36–3.18 m (7.7–10.4 ft) and a tail of 35–70 cm (14–28 in).

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The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in mainland Australia, with a small breeding population. The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world, following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936.

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The tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris), also known as the manumea, is a large pigeon found only in Samoa. It is the only living species of genus Didunculus. Phylogenetic studies indicate that it is the most basal living member of the clade Columbidae. A related extinct species, the Tongan tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus placopedetes), is only known from subfossil remains in several archeological sites in Tonga.

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The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is a species of porpoise endemic to the northern end of the Gulf of California in Baja California, Mexico. Averaging 150 cm (4.9 ft) (females) or 140 cm (4.6 ft) (males) in length, it is the smallest of all living cetaceans. The species is currently on the brink of extinction, and currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List; the steep decline in abundance is primarily due to bycatch in gillnets from the illegal totoaba fishery.

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Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. They are an informal grouping within the infraorder Cetacea, which usually excludes dolphins and porpoises. Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla, which consists of even-toed ungulates. Their closest non-cetacean living relatives are the hippopotamuses, from which they and other cetaceans diverged about 54 million years ago.

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The White River spinedace (Lepidomeda albivallis) is a critically endangered cyprinid fish of Nevada, occurring only in the White River in the southeastern part of the state. This spindace ranges from green to olive above, a brassy silver on the sides, becoming a silvery white underneath. The sides may also have a pattern of faint sooty patches.

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The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) is a species of toothed whale in the family Phocoenidae. It is endemic to the Yangtze River in China, making it the country’s only known freshwater cetacean following the possible extinction of the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer). The Yangtze finless porpoise is considered critically endangered and it is estimated that only about 1,000 remain. This small toothed whale faces many of the same threats that caused the baiji dolphin to possibly become extinct. The Yangtze River has a high traffic rate of human activity causing population declines due to illegal fishing, pollution, vessel traffic, and dam construction. Due to the rapidly declining population of the species, the Chinese Government and conservation charities are working to help save it from extinction.

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The baiji is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin. It is thought to be the first dolphin species driven to extinction due to the impact of humans. Despite being listed as “critically endangered: possibly extinct” by the IUCN, this dolphin has not been seen in almost 20 years and several surveys of the Yangtze have failed to find it. In China, the species is also called the Chinese river dolphin, Yangtze river dolphin, Yangtze dolphin and whitefin dolphin.

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The black rhinoceros or hook-lipped rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although the rhinoceros is referred to as black, its colours vary from brown to grey.
The other African rhinoceros is the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). The word “white” in the name “white rhinoceros” is often said to be a misinterpretation of the Afrikaans word wyd (Dutch wijd) meaning wide, referring to its square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the black rhinoceros. These species are now sometimes referred to as the square-lipped (for white) or hook-lipped (for black) rhinoceros.The species overall is classified as critically endangered (even though the south-western black rhinoceros is classified as near threatened). Three subspecies have been declared extinct, including the western black rhinoceros, which was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2011.

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The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), also known as the American polecat or prairie dog hunter, is a species of mustelid native to central North America.
The black-footed ferret is roughly the size of a mink and is similar in appearance to the European polecat and the Asian steppe polecat. It is largely nocturnal and solitary, except when breeding or raising litters. Up to 90% of its diet is composed of prairie dogs.The species declined throughout the 20th century, primarily as a result of decreases in prairie dog populations and sylvatic plague. It was declared extinct in 1979, but a residual wild population was discovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming in 1981. A captive-breeding program launched by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service resulted in its reintroduction into eight western US states, Canada, and Mexico from 1991 to 2009. As of 2011, over 1,000 mature, wild-born individuals are in the wild across 18 populations, with four self-sustaining populations in South Dakota (two), Arizona, and Wyoming. It was first listed as “endangered” in 1982, then listed as “extinct in the wild” in 1996 before being downgraded back to “endangered” in the IUCN Red List in 2008. In February 2021, the first successful clone of a black-footed ferret, a female named Elizabeth Ann, was introduced to the public.

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The Borneo elephant, also called the Borneo pygmy elephant, is a subspecies of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) that inhabits northeastern Borneo, in Indonesia and Malaysia. Its origin remains the subject of debate. A definitive subspecific classification as Elephas maximus borneensis awaits a detailed range-wide morphometric and genetic study. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. It is pre-eminently threatened by loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitat.

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The gaur, also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 mature individuals in 2016. It has declined by more than 70% during the last three generations, and is extirpated from Sri Lanka and most likely Bangladesh. Populations in well-protected areas are stable and increasing.

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Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) is one of four dolphin species belonging to the genus Cephalorhynchus. Hector’s dolphin is the only cetacean endemic to New Zealand, and comprises two subspecies: C. h. hectori, the more numerous subspecies, also referred to as South Island Hector’s dolphin; and the critically endangered Māui dolphin (C. h. maui), found off the West Coast of the North Island.

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The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra.

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The ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is a possibly-extinct woodpecker native to the bottomland hardwood forests and temperate coniferous forests of the Southern United States and Cuba. Habitat destruction and hunting have reduced populations so thoroughly that the species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and as “definitely or probably extinct” by the American Birding Association. The last universally accepted sighting of an American ivory-billed woodpecker occurred in Louisiana in 1944, and the last universally accepted sighting of a Cuban ivory-billed woodpecker occurred in 1987; sporadic reports of sightings and other evidence of the birds’ persistence have continued since then. In the 21st century, reported sightings and analyses of audio and visual recordings have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals as evidence that the species persists in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida. Various land purchases and habitat restoration efforts have been initiated in areas where sightings and other evidence have suggested a relatively high probability the species exists, to protect any surviving individuals. In September 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that the species be declared extinct, pending a 60-day period of public comment ending November 29, 2021. The IUCN has not changed its assessment of the species.

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The Kashmir stag (Cervus hanglu hanglu), also called hangul, is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer endemic to Kashmir, India. It is found in dense riverine forests in the high valleys and mountains of the Kashmir Valley and northern Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh. In Kashmir, it is found in the Dachigam National Park where it receives protection but elsewhere it is more at risk. In the 1941s, the population was between 3000 and 5000 individuals, but since then habitat destruction, over-grazing by domestic livestock and poaching have reduced population dramatically.

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Apodemia mormo langei, the Lange’s metalmark butterfly, is an endangered North American butterfly. It is a subspecies of the Mormon metalmark and belongs to the family Riodinidae. The butterfly is endemic to California, where it is known from one strip of riverbank in the San Francisco Bay Area. A 2008 count estimated the total remaining population at 131 individuals. Since 2011, this number has dropped to about 25–30.

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Lemurs are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea, divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are native only to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees (arboreal), and are active at night (nocturnal).

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The lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), or the wanderoo, is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. It is a rainforest dweller; it is diurnal, meaning it is active exclusively in daylight hours. It is a good climber and spends a majority of its life in the upper canopy of tropical moist evergreen forests.

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Māui dolphin, Maui’s dolphin, or popoto (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) is a subspecies of the Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori)—New Zealand’s only endemic cetacean species. Māui dolphins are only found off the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, and are now one of the rarest and smallest dolphin subspecies globally. A 2021 report issued by the New Zealand government suggests the population rests at 54 individuals, but when taking into account recent mortalities, the population could sit at less than 50 individuals.

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Geodorcus ithaginis, the Mokohinau stag beetle, is a large flightless species of stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. It was described by Thomas Broun in 1893 after being discovered in the Mokohinau Islands by Andreas Stewart Sandager, a lighthouse keeper on the islands. The species survives only on the small unnamed island “Stack H”, in an patch of vegetation the size of a living room, and is in extreme danger of extinction.

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The New Zealand fairy tern or tara-iti (Sternula nereis davisae) is a subspecies of the fairy tern endemic to New Zealand. It is New Zealand’s rarest native breeding bird, with about 40 individuals left in the wild. It nests at four coastal locations between Whangarei and Auckland in the North Island. It is threatened by introduced predators, extreme storms and tides, beach activity, and waterfront development.

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The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi). Moreover, the extent and quality of the rhino’s most important habitat, the alluvial Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands and riverine forest, is considered to be in decline due to human and livestock encroachment.

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The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus Panthera native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline about 10% by 2040.

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The Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In 2011, IUCN upgraded the conservation status of the Sumatran elephant from endangered to critically endangered in its Red List as the population had declined by at least 80% during the past three generations, estimated to be about 75 years.

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The Sunda Island tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) is a tiger subspecies native to the Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The name refers to the:
Javan tiger (P. t. sondaica) — the extinct tiger population of Java
Bali tiger, formerly P. t. balica (Schwarz, 1912) — the extinct tiger population of Bali
Sumatran tiger, formerly P. t. sumatrae Pocock, 1929 — the living tiger population of Sumatra

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The Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India. It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu. Despite its local name, it is more closely related to the sheep of the genus Ovis than the ibex and wild goats of the genus Capra.

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The western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) that lives in montane, primary and secondary forest and lowland swampland in central Africa in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. It is the nominate subspecies of the western gorilla, and the smallest of the four gorilla subspecies.
The western lowland gorilla is the only subspecies kept in zoos with the exception of Amahoro, a female eastern lowland gorilla at Antwerp Zoo, and a few mountain gorillas kept captive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Named for its whooping sound, the whooping crane (Grus americana), is the tallest North American bird. It is an endangered crane species. Along with the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), it is one of only two crane species native to North America. The whooping crane’s lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild. After being pushed to the brink of extinction by unregulated hunting and loss of habitat to just 21 wild and two captive whooping cranes by 1941, conservation efforts have led to a limited recovery. The total number of cranes in the surviving migratory population, plus three reintroduced flocks and in captivity, now exceeds 800 birds.

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