Philippine Crocodile
This beautiful crocodile species can be observed in the sweet waters of the lakes and rivers in the Philippines. Although it is protected by law, the Philippine Crocodile had been hunted for years illegally.
While in 1992 there were 1,000 crocodiles, only 3 years later researchers found less than 100. Today, their number is below 80.
California condor
The only place where this rare species can still live freely is the Grand Canyon. These guys feed only on the dead bodies of other species and it’s incapable of killing anything. Their life span is usually around 50 years, which is quite surprising considering their food taste!
Although it was pretty common once, illegal hunting turned the California condor into one of the rarest birds in the world, with only 152 of them still alive in freedom.
Sumatran orangutan
Right now, there are only two orangutan species left on earth – and this is one of them. Located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, this beautiful creature is on the verge of extinction because of illegal hunting that’s been going on for years.
Also, their number of newborns is actually the lowest out of all monkey species existing.
Ganges shark
One of the things that make the Ganges shark so rare and special is that it can actually live in sweet waters as well. Located on the Ganges river in India, this predator is well known as a fierce enemy by locals and not only!
However, researchers found that it’s actually not that harmful, at least compared to other shark species. Fishermen have been hunting the species for a long time to extract oil out of the shark’s liver.
Mountain gorilla
Even though the mountain gorillas weren’t discovered until 1902 (which is pretty late), they quickly became endangered because of hunting, pollution and selling illegal newborns. As the largest monkey species worldwide, a male can even get to have 266 kg!
However, this is also the most peaceful monkey on the planet, which made it a very easy target for hunters. Today, less than 700 of them are still alive.
Black-footed Ferret
Also known as the American ferret, this is the only ferret species living in North America. Even though it used to be very popular, the main reason why its numbers have decreased so much is city pollution and constant change of their natural habitat.
In fact, today less than 2% of the ferrets’ natural habitat still exists, which leaves only 1,500 of them trying to make a living there.
Siberian Tiger
Did you know that the Siberian tiger is the largest feline in the world? This very rare species is so fascinating that even Russian president Vladimir Putin is personally involved into protecting it!
Unfortunately, the numbers are continually dropping, with less than 500 tigers left worldwide.
Red Wolf
Can you imagine that this species actually managed to survive the Pleistocene epoch only to disappear because of humans?
Right now, only about 100 red wolves are living in a special reservation from northern Carolina, although it’s hard to say whether their species will survive or not.
Gray Whale
Harming gray whales has been forbidden by laws worldwide ever since 1947. Even so, 19th century hunting was so brutal that even today the species is on the verge of extinction.
Today, only about 100 gray whales are still alive and only 23 of them are reproductive females! From pollution to illegal hunting, this species is barely struggling to survive – let alone raise their babies.
Sumatran Rhino
The smallest rhinoceros species in the world also happens to be pretty shy and friendly. These beautiful rhinos used to live throughout India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and even Cambodia.. but now there are less than 300 of them left.
The main cause of their extinction is illegal hunting and torture to get their horn, which is often seen as a trophy.