The International Union for Conservation of Nature, one of the world’s foremost advocates for preserving the natural world, keeps what it calls a “red list,” an assessment of the threats faced by plants and animals. As of 2016, the 70-year-old organization’s list included 82,954 species, of which 23,928 were threatened with extinction. Check out 15 Rare Animals That Are Almost Extinct!
Kouprey
Scientific name: Bos sauveli
Date last recorded in wild: 1969/70
Geographic region: Cambodia; Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Threats: Hunting, disease, habitat loss
Wondiwoi Tree-kangaroo
Scientific name: Dendrolagus mayri
Date last recorded in wild: 1928
Geographic region: Indonesia
Threats: Hunting
South Island Kokako
Scientific name: Callaeas cinereus
Date last recorded in wild: 2007
Geographic region: New Zealand
Threats: Habitat loss, introduction of predators
Imperial Woodpecker
Scientific name: Campephilus imperialis
Date last recorded in wild: 1956
Geographic region: Mexico
Threats: Hunting, habitat loss
Poo-uli
Scientific name: Melamprosops phaeosoma
Date last recorded in wild: 2004
Geographic region: Hawaii
Threats: Habitat loss, introduction of predators
Jamaica Giant Galliwasp
Scientific name: Celestus occiduus
Date last recorded in wild: 1851
Geographic region: Jamaica
Threats: Habitat loss, introduction of predators
Chinese Paddlefish
Scientific name: Psephurus gladius
Date last recorded in wild: 2003
Geographic region: China
Threats: Overfishing
Syr-darya Shovelnose Sturgeon
Scientific name: Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi
Date last recorded in wild: 1960s
Geographic region: Kazakhstan; Tajikistan; Uzbekistan
Threats: Habitat loss
Jamaican Poorwill
Scientific name: Siphonorhis americana
Date last recorded in wild: 1860
Geographic region: Jamaica
Threats: Introduction of predators
Aru Flying Fox
Scientific name: Pteropus aruensis
Date last recorded in wild: 1992
Geographic region: Indonesia
Threats: Possibly hunting, sugarcane plantation development
Spix’s Macaw
Scientific name: Cyanopsitta spixii
Date last recorded in wild: 2007
Geographic region: Brazil
Threats: Habitat loss, hunting
Eskimo Curlew
Scientific name: Numenius borealis
Date last recorded in wild: 1963
Geographic region: Argentina; Barbados; Brazil; Canada; Chile; Mexico; Paraguay; United States; Uruguay
Threats: Habitat loss, hunting
Bachman Warbler
Scientific name: Vermivora bachmanii
Date last recorded in wild: 1988
Geographic region: Cuba, United States
Threats: Habitat loss, conversion to sugarcane plantations
Fernandina Giant Tortoise
Scientific name: Chelonoidis phantasticus
Date last recorded in wild: 1964
Geographic region: Ecuador
Threats: Volcanic activity
Green-flecked Salamander
Scientific name: Pseudoeurycea tlahcuiloh
Date last recorded in wild: 1960s
Geographic region: Mexico
Threats: Logging, agriculture expansion