Over the years human activities have done a lot of damage to the earth and its creations. In an unprecedented quest to make profits, we have compromised our beautiful relationship with nature. The rapid rate of urbanization, deforestation, poaching, illegal pet trade and hunting has greatly resulted in pushing some of the most fascinating creatures on the verge of extinction in the wild. Some of the animals that caught our attention are discussed below. It is really heartening, that these animals have adapted to all the threats other than humans. This planet is inhabited with numerous species and we should co-exist with them to maintain the balance long-established by nature.
Without further adieu, let’s jump into the list of endangered animals that are on the verge of extinction in the wild.
Asian Clouded Leopards
Threats
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
- Logging & wood harvesting
- Storms & flooding
- Commercial & industrial areas
- Agriculture & aquaculture
- Wood & pulp plantations
- Livestock farming & ranching
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
- Logging & wood harvesting
- War, civil unrest & military exercises
Number of Mature Individuals
Unknown but declining sharply
Habitat
Forest, Scrublands
Clouded Leopards are one of the shyest, enigmatic and elusive cats. Besides their shy nature, they have a steadily declining population making it even harder to spot them in the wild. As far as big cats go clouded leopards are the smallest. A full-grown leopard will reach a length of around 3 feet when fully grown. Native throughout Asia they live in diverse habitats from the rain forests of Indonesia to the foothills of the Himalayas. They pack a powerful bite – as they have the largest canine teeth relative to body size of any wild cat. They have short powerful legs and ankles making them elite climbers. Besides a quickly shrinking habitat, poaching remains a huge problem as their skin, claws, teeth, and meat are sold in the black market.
The Northern White Rhino
Threats
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
Number of Mature Individuals
0-2
Habitat
Grassland, Shrubland, Savanna
The Northern White Rhino is a white rhino subspecies that once spread across the parts of Uganda, Chad, Sudan, CAR and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Years of extensive poaching and civil war have destroyed the population and have now been declared extinct in the wild. They were killed for their precious horns that have been claimed by South East Asian countries as having medicinal properties. But in reality the horns are just keratin and has no such qualities. As these Rhinos decreased in numbers the price of the horns sky rocketed making it more profitable to hunt them and take away their horns. Today, there are only two remaining, all at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The last male named Sudan died in 2018 because of an infection in his right hind leg. Now, the existence of this species depend on an IVF procedure. The sperm from male rhinos and females will be fused to create an embryo and then it will be inseminated into a female Southern White Rhino. This procedure has never been done on a Rhino and now it is up to science to save these fascinating beasts.
Addax
Threats
- Livestock farming & ranching
- Oil & gas drilling
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
- Droughts
Number of Mature Individuals
30-90
Habitat
Desert, Grasslands, Savanna
Take a look at this gorgeous gazelle which is sadly on the verge of extinction, once spread across the Sahara Desert it is now only found in pockets of Chad, Mali, and Niger. Addax is considered the largest type of gazelle with very long legs. They are built lean and slender to survive the desert heat. Their tan and brown coats blend with their native surroundings. They travel in herds together. They browse and graze grass and leaves. Their strength in number is a survival tactic as they count lions, leopards, and cheetahs as their predators. In the last decade their population has decreased by over 80 percent along with habitat destruction poaching and overhunting for horns and meat have caused the addax to become critically endangered and some estimate their numbers at less than 300 in the wild. Currently, there are programs that are running to increase the population of these gazelles.
Humboldt Penguin
Threats
- Mining & quarrying
- Biological resource use
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
- Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources
- Recreational activities
- Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases
- Problematic native species/diseases
- Pollution
- Climate change & severe weather
- Storms & flooding
- Number of Mature Individuals
Number of Mature Individuals
32000 and declining sharply
Habitat
Marine Intertidal, Marine Neritic, Marine Oceanic, Desert, Marine Coastal/Supratidal, Artificial/Aquatic & Marine, Forest
This is a Humboldt Penguin named after the Humboldt Current in South America. It’s estimated that less than 32,000 remain in the wild. A fully grown male Humboldt is distinguished by their black backs and Tails and by a black band across their chest that runs down the body. Mainly found along the coast of Peru and Chile Humboldt penguins live on the rocky mainland Shores or coastal islands. They have a body made to swim using their strong wings they get up to an astonishing 17 miles per hour underwater. They just love their fish especially small ones like the anchovies and herring that they hunt for in the coastal waters where the Pacific meets South America. Unlike Arctic cousins, they live in warm weather climates and in large colonies that act as a collective defense mechanism against predators. Today the biggest threat to these amazing Creatures is entanglement in fishery nets, human encroachment, and habitat loss.
Three-Banded Armadillo
Threats
- Agriculture & aquaculture
- Annual & perennial non-timber crops
- Biological resource use
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
- Pet trade
Number of Mature Individuals
Unknown but decreasing rapidly
Habitat
Shrubland, Savanna
This is a Southern Three-Banded Armadillo, raiders look somewhere else you’ll have a hard time cracking this critter. Similar to all armadillo species they are protected by Bony plates that make up their shell but fascinatingly the southern three-banded armadillo is the only armadillo species that can roll themselves into a near-perfect ball when they sense danger. These little guys are endemic to central South America and fancy dry vegetation there. They also love snacking on insects that they dig up with their sharp and powerful claws. Then they gather the insects they dug with long sticky straw-like tongue, but sadly even body armor can’t protect this animal from numerous anthropogenic threats. The major cause of the decline in population is their dwindling habitat on top of that they are hunted heavily for food and captured for the pet trade. This is the story of the southern three-banded armadillo.
Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
Threats
- Housing & urban areas
- Annual & perennial non-timber crops
- Roads & railroads
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
Number of Mature Individuals
Unknown but declining sharply
Habitat
Forrest
This is the widely popular Red Knee Tarantula. She’s got incredible looks, unfortunately, her striking features have made her a hot commodity in the illegal pet trade found in the forests of southwestern Mexico. These red knees are some of the largest spiders growing up to eight inches in size. Besides size, their beautiful red, white, black and orange hairs are what separates them from other spiders. The hairs on their legs are used to sense vibrations from predators and prey. They prey on large insects, frogs, and mice biting and injecting them with their potent venom. Their killer looks have made them the most popular captive tarantula causing a major population decline in the wild. Today regulations are in place requiring permits to remove any of these magnificent creatures from the wild.
Hooded Vulture
Threats
- Annual & perennial non-timber crops
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
- Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases
- Pollution
- Agricultural & forestry effluents
Number of Mature Individuals
Declining rapidly
Habitat
Forest, Artificial/Terrestrial, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Desert
This is the Hooded Vulture that belongs to sub-Saharan Africa. These unique vultures are critically endangered. They are the smallest of African vultures only slightly larger than a crow. They are mainly scavengers and because of their small size, they end up waiting by carcasses and eating the scraps left behind by larger birds. Adults have white feathers behind the neck which forms a hood over its head hence their name. They live in jungle clearings where it rains often, coastal marshes and creeks. These vultures are unafraid of humans and can be found in villages and towns often referred to as garbage collectors by locals. Due to a combination of hunting, poisoning and habitat degradation their population over the last three generations has declined to over 80%.
Malayan Tapir
Threats
- Livestock farming & ranching
- Oil & gas drilling
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
- Droughts
Number of Mature Individuals
2499
Habitat
Wetlands, Grasslands, Forest
Malayan Tapirs are the biggest of the four species of tapir and are the only one native to Asia. A close relative of the horse and rhinoceros tapirs have poor eyesight but they have a keen sense of hearing and smell. When feeling threatened or frightened they’ve been known to exhibit pretty quick bursts of acceleration in running. They are also exceptional swimmers and will seek refuge from predators in deep water while using their flexible nose as a snorkel although they are vegetarians they can also defend themselves with a bite from their razor-sharp teeth, their distinct black and white coat looks very smart and also serves as an excellent camouflage from predators who will often mistake them for a large rock when they lie down to sleep. Despite these adaptations, tapirs are extremely threatened. Deforestation and encroachment by humans for hydroelectric projects are a few of the major threats to the shrinking habitats of the Malayan Tapir.
The Prehensile-tailed Skink
Threats
- Excessive logging of wood
- Pet Trade
- Hunting by natives
Number of Mature Individuals
Unknown but declining rapidly
Habitat
Forest
The prehensile-tailed Skink’s body is a greenish olive color with scattered black scales, this coloring combined with its slow movements helps the skink to camouflage with its surroundings and hide from enemies like other skinks. The Solomon Islands skink is completely herbivorous, eating many different fruits and vegetables including the pothos plant. Its head is flat and triangular, their strong legs and sharp claws help them to climb trees the defining feature on this skink is its prehensile tail which allows them to grasp objects and branches for balance their tail makes up nearly half of their body’s length the prehensile-tailed skink’s habitat is under threat due to deforestation for lumber and agriculture this and the skink’s popularity within the pet trade has threatened their survival in the wild this is the prehensile-tailed skink.
African Crested Porcupine
Threats
- Biological resource use
- Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals
- Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases
- Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases
- Geological events
- Volcanoes
Number of Mature Individuals
800 only
Habitat
Scrublands, Grassland, Artificial/Terrestrial, Forest, Rocky areas
Meet the African crested porcupine the largest porcupine in the world who can weigh over sixty pounds. When frightened its coarse quills raise into a crest making themselves look a lot bigger than they really are. It is mostly heavily armored in its hind quarters which have short thick quills. These quills can get stuck into its attacker’s skin, a good weapon when dealing with hyenas, leopards, and even lions. They mostly eat roots, bulbs, and crops along with the occasional insect. Unfortunately, these lovely porcupines are seen as an agricultural pest and as urban land rapidly shrinks their habitat comes into closer quarters with farmers, who do not refrain from killing them to save their produce.
It will be a great loss to our future generation if they do not get to see these magnificent creatures in the wild. The best way to spread awareness about these issues is to read and share such content as much as you can. If you think that something should be done to save these animals do then share the article.
Sources: Ol Pejeta Conservancy | IUCN Red list | IUCN Save Our Species
