15 Photos of the world’s rarest animals

Related Articles

#1 Indian Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni).

The only spot where this extremely uncommon cats can be found is Malay Peninsula in Southern Thailand. By reversing a policy that had been for years, a restriction was recently lifted by China for the use of tiger parts. According to WWF this a significant action for the protection of the wildlife. Another place where WWF focusing is that, to save castles Malayan people murder tigers frequently. So WWF tries to avoid it too.

#2 Gazelle d’Amazon (Nanger dama).

In the wild only about hundred estimated individuals are found of this little African Antelopes. Due to the fragmented populations of Saharan Grassland these animals are unable to find food for their survival.
This gaint gazelles are to be introduced to the wild with the Sahara Conservation Fund and also with the help of a number of zoos to safeguard these animals in Niger, Mali and Chad with breeding operations.

#3 Elephant pygmy of Borneo (Elephas maximus borneensis).

The smallest elephants found in Asia. Only about just 1500 individuals of them are left. According to conservation organizations there is a considerable impact on all of these elephants due to the ban of ivory in China. However, these important creatures depend on their foraging areas and now the expansion of palm oil plantations in the area had become a threat to them.

#4 Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis)

STANISLAVBELOGLAZOV/SHUTTERSTOCK

The Saola Working Group says that this animal is one of the rarest large animals on Earth because it lives in the mountains of Laos and Vietnam. The Group, which works to keep the species alive, says that habitat loss and not paying enough attention to its conservation are the biggest threats to the saola’s survival. However, it also says that the saola’s death can be stopped with the right care.

#5 Cuban snail (Polymita picta)

MARK BRANDON/SHUTTERSTOCK

Poachers who wanted to sell them as jewelry nearly killed off these large, brightly colored land snails. In 2012, they were listed as endangered. These hermaphrodites have long stalks with eyes at the end that stick out of their heads. They use their shells to attract mates. If only the razor-sharp teeth of snails could be effective weapons against human threats.

#6 Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita)

MARTIN PELANEK/SHUTTERSTOCK

BirdLife says that this big bird is the Middle East’s rarest bird. In fact, there are only 100 pairs left in Morocco and only two in Syria. This is a good sign, though, because the bird was thought to be extinct in Syria until 2002. Desertification is the main reason why it’s going extinct, but people are trying to stop it. In 2004, their breeding area became protected, and many regional governments and NGOs have stepped in to help save the Syrian population in particular.

#7 Ploughshare tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora)

STANISLAVBELOGLAZOV/SHUTTERSTOCK

With only a few hundred of these animals left in the wild in Madagascar, the world’s most endangered tortoise is likely to go extinct within the next ten years. The good news is that more people are working to save it. The Turtle Conservancy and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust work with local people to stop poaching and get animals that were taken illegally back into breeding programs. Some turtle species are among the ones that live the longest.

#8 Greater bamboo lemur (Hapalemur simus)

DAVID THYBERG/SHUTTERSTOCK

Elsewhere in Madagascar, this five-pound primate with distinctive white ear tufts is down to a mere 500 individuals. Since it only eats bamboo, like the panda, it has been very vulnerable to the destruction and degradation of the rainforest it lives in. It has also been aggressively hunted. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and other groups are trying to protect its habitat and stop people in the area from hunting it.

#9 Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)

HANDOKO RAMAWIDJAYA BUMI/SHUTTERSTOCK

The number of these bright green and red birds with fancy plumage is dropping quickly in the mountains of Central America. The main reasons are poaching for sale as pets and loss of habitat. National Geographic says that these birds were once sacred to the Maya and Aztec people, whose “royalty and priests wore its feathers during ceremonies.” The fact that eco-birders like them may help to raise their status in the area and protect them in the long run. These are the strangest animals you can find in each U.S. state.

#10 Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

HANDOKO RAMAWIDJAYA BUMI/SHUTTERSTOCK

This is the smallest species of rhino (3-1/2 feet tall and 1 ton), and it is the only one with two horns. It is critically endangered, like most of its relatives. WWF says that two subspecies are barely surviving in Western and Eastern Sumatra, and a third is thought to have died out. Sumatran Rhino Rescue is working to bring the 80 wild rhinos that are still alive and struggling to sanctuaries where they will be safe from poachers and can breed. This would help all rhino species.

#11 Bearcat (Arctictis binturong)

HANDOKO RAMAWIDJAYA BUMI/SHUTTERSTOCK

These nocturnal, slow-moving, mostly fruit-eating carnivores are related to civets and live in the trees of south and southeast Asia. They are active at night and are mostly fruit eaters. Due to poaching for the pet trade, traditional medicines, and food, the San Diego Zoo lists them as vulnerable in some areas and endangered in others. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has made a Species Survival Plan for the Bearcat to set up important protections before it’s too late.

#12 Angel shark (Squatina squatina)

HANDOKO RAMAWIDJAYA BUMI/SHUTTERSTOCK

Angel sharks used to live all over the northeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and other places, but their numbers have dropped sharply over the past 50 years. Its low breeding rates and the fact that it is easy to get caught in fishing nets as a bycatch don’t bode well for its survival, especially in the last 15 years, when it went from being vulnerable to being critically endangered.

#13 Golden-rumped elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon chrysopygus)

MARIUS DOBILAS/SHUTTERSTOCK

The golden-rumped elephant shrew in Kenya is the most endangered of the four types of giant elephant shrews that are known. About 13,000 of these small mammals are thought to still be in the wild. They only live in coastal forests, which are in danger of disappearing because of development. Sadly, their population is not being watched and there are no laws in place to protect it.

#14 Peacock tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica)

DAN OLSEN/SHUTTERSTOCK

This is the only blue species in its genus, and it is in steep decline because of war, civil unrest, and military exercises in western India. It is also actively collected for the pet market. No one knows how many of these spiders are still in the wild, but it’s likely that the number is low. IUCN’s Red List entry for the species says that the Peacock tarantula needs research, assessment, and a lot of other conservation measures to help it stay alive.

#15 Rusty-patched Bumblebee (Bombus affinis)

DAN OLSEN/SHUTTERSTOCK

This species of bumblebee, which was once common in more than half of the U.S. states, was officially listed as endangered in 2017. For years, its numbers were so low that it was close to going extinct. National Geographic says it was the first American bumblebee to get this unfortunate status. It joined seven species of Hawaiian yellow-faced bees in getting federal protection.

More on this topic

Comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Popular stories