20 Endangered Animals In The World

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Do you know how many endangered animals are in the world nowadays? There are 8 million animal species in the world nowadays, and 41,415 species are endangered due to many factors. Some people destroy their habitats while others hunt them for fun or their skin which is bad. It might be difficult to stop or prevent hunters from hunting or lumberjack from cutting trees. This list here can show you some awesome animals that are endangered, some are on the brink of extinction. Take a look at the 20 endangered animals below and let us know if you have more for us to add.

1African Forest Elephant

The African Forest Elephant is a forest-dwelling elephant species that lives in Congo Basin. Humans are one of the greatest threats to this animal because countless deaths of them are by humans. The threats include habitat loss and the decrease of sufficient food.

2African Penguin

You can find these adorable penguins in southern African waters. By the mid-20th century, the number of African penguins decreases because people collect their eggs for sale. Also, their habitat was bothered because of oil spills, shipwrecks, and tankers cleaning at sea.

3Asian Elephant

Asian Elephant are found in Southeast Asia from the west of India to the east of Borneo. The difference between the Asian and the African elephant is their size because Asian Elephants are the largest animals in Asia. The population of these elephants has declined due to degradation, fragmentation, habitat loss, and poaching.

4Asiatic Black Bear

The Asiatic Black Bear or White-Chested Bear is a medium-sized bear that lives in Asia. You can find them in the Himalayas, Korea, Northeastern China, Japan, and more. This type of bear is facing extinction due to hunting for sport both legally and illegally which results in endangered.

5Bengal Tiger

Actually, Bengal Tiger is the most numerous tiger subspecies. However, the number has decreased to fewer than 2,500 nowadays. Their biggest threat is an illegal trade in poached skins and body parts of the Bengal Tiger.

6Blue Whale

A blue whale can weigh up to 173 tons with a maximum length of 29.9 meters. Not surprised they are the largest animals in the world. Since 1883, humans began to hunt no less than blue whales 60,000 till now.

7Dhole

Have you ever heard of a dhole before? Even my computer does not recognize this name. Dhole is a canid native to Central, South, and Southeast Asia. Most people confused them with mountain wolves or red dogs. People hunt them in so many ways for fur including poisoning, snaring, shooting, and even clubbing.

8Eastern Lowland Gorilla

Their population has declined because of poaching for meat, mining, civil unrest, and agriculture.

9Fin Whale

Just like Blue Whale, Fin Whale is also being hunted by the whalers. Also, collisions with ships are also the major cause of fin whale mortality from serious injuries to the whales.

10Fossa

Fossa looks like a cat, and they are the carnivore animals in Madagascar. They are facing the loss of their habitat due to the destruction of Madagascar’s native forest. People hunt fossa because they describe fossa as greedy and aggressive.

11Gharial

Gharial or Gavial is a crocodile-like reptile whose main diet is fish in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. Their population is threatened by the loss of riverine habitat, depletion of fish resources, and entanglement of fishing nets.

12Golden Lion Tamarin

image: Pixabay

No, they are not lions. The golden lion tamarin is in the monkey family native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil. They face extinction because of the deforestation and fragmentation that affect their habitats.

13Kakapo

Kakapo or Owl Parrot is a flightless ground-dwelling bird in New Zealand. People hunted kakapo for food, skin, and feathers which were made into cloaks. Until 2014, the population of kakapo is only 126. Hopefully, their population will increase in the future.

14Killer Whale

image: Ed Schipul

The Killer Whale or Orca is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. They mostly feed on fish, seals, and dolphins. But they also attack baleen whale calves and adult whales. People kill killer whales for commercial hunts and to maintain fisheries along Japanese coasts.

15Macaw

image: Pixabay

The majority of macaws are not endangered while a few similar species are already extinct. Their population has declined because of deforestation and illegal trapping for the bird trade.

16Markhor

Markhor is a large species of wild goat in northeastern Afghanistan, northern and central Pakistan, Kashmir, and more. Markhor is also a national animal of Pakistan. They are prey for snow leopards, brown bears, lynx, jackals, and golden eagles which is one of the reasons for their population decrease. People also hunt them for meat, poaching is also one of the common things that affect their population. They have amazing spiral horns which attract hunters to forget about being humane and hunt them.

17Red Panda

Red panda is a mammal that lives in the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. They feed on bamboo, eggs, birds, and insects. Deforestation and fragmentation are the main causes of their habitat loss. While their biggest threats are hunting and poaching which make their population get lower and lower.

18Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros are the amazing animals that many brainless people have killed just to get horns from their noses. Those horns are bought and sold on the black market which is used by some cultures for traditional purposes. While other people use the horns for just decorations. Noted that the Sumatran rhinoceros have 2 horns while the Indian and Javan rhinoceros have a single horn. And all of them are endangered.

19Tapir

Tapir is a large herbivorous animal that has a similar shape to a pig, and it has a short prehensile snout. People have been hunting tapir for meat, and they also face habitat loss that makes them endangered.

20Wildebeest

The wildebeests also go by the name Gnus, and they are a genus of antelopes. Their biggest threat comes from migration barriers such as fences and roads. These fences prevent them from reaching watering holes and grazing grounds during droughts resulting in countless deaths. People also hunt them for meat to eat and skin to make leather products like bags.

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