Amur Leopard

The Amur Leopard is a solitary animal living in the Russian Far East.  The Amur leopard is also known as the Far East leopard, the Manchurian leopard or the Korean leopard. There are only 60 known individuals left and are listed as critically endangered. 

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Black Rhino

The Black Rhino are native to eastern and central Africa. Early Europeans settlers hunted the black rhinos heavily and in the 20th century most people regarded rhinos as vermin and exterminated them at all costs.  Now there are only 4,848 left in the world.

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Cross River Gorilla

Cross River gorillas live in the Congo Basin region. They are subspecies of the Western Gorilla. Their habitat is populated by many humans who have encroached upon the gorilla’s territory—clearing forests for timber and to create fields for agriculture and livestock. Poaching occurs in the forests as well, and the loss of even a few of these gorillas has a

detrimental effect on such a small population. (Source)

There are 200-300 gorillas left. A group smaller than my high school.

Dugong

This weird creature is a dugong. Dugongs are cousins of manatees , but have a dolphin fluke-like tail. The dugong is strictly a marine mammal living in the coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific oceans. 

These sea cows are currently listed as Vulnerable

Sumatran Elephant

The Sumatran elephant has been classified as critically endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 80% over the last three generations (estimated 75 years). The subspecies is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, and poaching; over 69% of potential elephant habitat has been lost within the last 25 years. Much of the remaining forest cover is in blocks smaller than 97 sq mi, which are too small to contain viable elephant populations “ 

There are 2,400-2,800 left.

Source :  International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Black-Footed Ferret

Black-footed ferrets are one of the most endangered mammals in North America and are the only ferret species native to the continent. Their recovery in the wild signifies the health of the grassland ecosystem which they depend on to survive. Recovery efforts have restored their numbers to nearly 1,000 but they are still considered highly endangered .

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Galapagos Penguin

Say hello to the Galapagos Penguin! They are one of the handful of penguins that live outside of the icy region of Antarctica . They are found on the Galapagos Islands and they are the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild. There are about 2,000 penguins left due to a large number of predators, human factors, and the fact that most breeding pairs only produce one offspring.

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Humphead Wrasse

“The humphead wrasse is an enormous coral reef fish—growing over six feet long—with a prominent bulge on its forehead. Some of them live to be over 30 years old. They roam through coral reefs in search of hard shelled prey such as mollusks, starfish, or crustaceans. “

The Humphead Wrasse is an endangered species that lives in the Coral Triangle.

🔴 (Prints) 🔴                                     (source)  

Cayman Island blue iguana​

Found only on Grand Cayman, this blue iguana is one of the most endangered lizards on Earth .  When it was originally found in 1940 the Cayman Island blue iguana was already considered to be on the brink of extinction.  The wild population is sparse and dispersed, and estimated in 2002 at just 10 – 25 individuals.

(source)

The blues in this painting have been over exaggerated. Check out the source link for photos. 

Javin Rhino

"Javan rhinos are the most threatened of the five rhino species, with 60 individuals surviving in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia."

(source)

Kashmir Musk Deer

The Kashmir musk deer is an endangered species of small fanged deer native to the Afghanistan, india, and pakistan regions. This deer is one of 7 similar types of musk deer that are endangered due to habitat loss and because of poachers hunting them to death for their scent glands that are used in perfumes and rumored to be an aphrodisiac.

Lac Alaotra Bamboo Lemur

The Lac Alaotra Bamboo Lemur lives in the papyrus reeds of northeast Madagascar. This lemur is the only primate specifically adapted to living in papyrus reeds. Unlike the name suggests, the Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur does not eat bamboo; instead, it feeds on the stems of papyrus reeds, shoots of 3 other species of grass. 

Mountain Gorilla

"Mountain gorillas live in forests high in the mountains, at elevations of 8,000 to 13,000 feet. They have thicker fur, and more of it, compared to other great apes. The fur helps them to survive in a habitat where temperatures often drop below freezing. But as humans have moved more and more into the gorillas’ territory, the gorillas have been pushed farther up into the mountains for longer periods, forcing them to endure dangerous and sometimes deadly conditions."

(source)

Narwhal

"Narwhals spend their lives in the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. The majority of the world’s narwhals winter for up to five months under the sea ice in the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait area (between Canada and western Greenland). Cracks in the ice allow them to breathe when needed, especially after dives, which can be up to a mile and a half deep. They feed mainly on Greenland halibut, along with other fish, squid and shrimp. “ They are a threatened species.
(source wwf)  

Okapi

The letter O of the Endangered Animal Alphabet series: The Okapi 
 
The Okapi is a giraffid artiodactyl mammal native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. While it may look like it’s related to zebras, it is most closely related to the giraffe. The okapi and the giraffe are the only living members of the family Giraffidae. 

🔴 (Prints) 🔴                                  

Poison Dart Frog

The letter P of the Endangered Animal Alphabet series: Poison Dart Frogs

The poison dart frogs are found in Central and South America in the humid rainforests. There are over 175 different types of poison dart frogs with varying colors and patterns.  Their bright colors are meant for warning predators of their toxic skin, which may be due to their high toxicity diet rather than being able to synthesize the poison naturally. The poison dart frogs are placed on the endangered species list due to habitat lost due to farming and logging and an infectious disease ,Chytridiomycosis, that has affected over 30% of the world’s amphibians. 

🔴 (Prints) 🔴   

Hawksbill Turtle

The Letter T of the Endangered Animal Alphabet: Hawksbill Turtle

Nearly all species of sea turtles are endangered due to a variety of human based influence. 

Check out this nifty infographic from WWF for more info on our world's sea turtles. 

Usambara Shrew

The Letter U of the endangered animal alphabet series : Usambara Shrew⁣

⁣This cute little mole-like mammal lives only in the small section of montane forests of Tanzinia . Depending on who you ask they're considered threatened or highly endangered , either way  there's very little material online about this fluffy creature . Likely closely related to the elephant shrew and the colors have been exaggerated. 

Egyptian Vulture

The Egyptian vulture is an opportunist bird and will feed on a huge range of food. Carrion comprises the majority of its diet, including dead birds, small mammals, livestock and large wild animals . It will often feed just on the scraps of large carcasses after other vultures have consumed the majority of the soft flesh. This undiscriminating bird will also scavenge on a wide range of organic waste, including rotting fruit, vegetables and even excrement. Egyptian vulture also consumes eggs and will throw stones at them to break open the shell – an incredible and rare example of tool-use in birds. 

In Europe, the Egyptian vulture has been suffering severe, long-term declines; the result of disturbance, lead poisoning from gunshots, direct poisoning and electrocution by powerlines, as well as regulations introduced within the European Union to control the disposal of animal carcasses, which have greatly reduced food availability for this scavenger. In addition, Avian pox has been cited as the cause of Egyptian vulture  deaths in Bulgaria. In India, diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug often used for livestock, is likely to be the source of recent and extremely rapid

declines in Egyptian vulture populations . This drug, which is also responsible for devastating declines in other vulture species, poisons vultures when they feed on the flesh of treated livestock.

They are considered endangered and will likely trend towards critically endangered soon. 

Whale Shark

The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world growing to the length of 40 feet long. The distribution of whale sharks indicates the presence of plankton and the overall health of our oceans. Demand for meat, fins and oil from the whale sharks threaten the creatures as well as Whale tourism which will interrupt their feeding and potentially injure them from boat propellers .

(Source)

Xantus's Murrelet

The Scripps's Murrelet and Guadalupe murrelet are a species of seabird that is found in the California Current. These group of seabirds are remarkable for the fact that they are considered the only seabirds which rear their young entirely at sea. They nest in small crevices on arid islands for a month, and within two days of hatching, the family will swim out to offshore waters.  The introduction of rats and cats and oil spills near Los Angeles has been increasingly endangering this species. 

Yellow Margined Box Turtle

Also known as the Chinese box turtle and shìshéguī (~snake-eating turtle). The lifespan of this turtle is unknown but it is closely related to the Asian Box Turtle which can live for over 100+ years.⁠
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These turtles are threatened by habitat loss as well as harvesting by humans for a variety of reasons. Consumption, traditional medicines, and the pet trade all contribute to the wild population's decline. ⁠