There are many animals that are recognized as highly Endangered Wildlife. These species are different for different regions of the world. There are many organizations throughout the world that work towards starting initiatives for conservation of these species. The World Wildlife Fund is one of the leading organizations among these.
The Most Endangered Wildlife Species
The African elephant is at the top among the most endangered wildlife species. Once upon a time, there used to be millions of these in all across the African continent. Now, however, due to the poaching done for ivory and meat, these elephants’ population has gone down to a great extent. Among these elephants, the Savanna specie population is the one under the biggest threat.
Specie of elephants that scientists consider nearing extinction is the Asian Elephant. Only small populations of these elephants remain in Asia. These too, are very fragmented and isolated. In Asia, the little populations of these elephants are found in India and Sri Lanka where efforts are being made for their conservation.
Rhinos used to be widespread in various continents of the world decades ago. However, no one can see the only in parks and reserves. There is widespread demand for their horns. The poaching combined with the cutting down of forests by humans is responsible for the huge reduction in the population of rhinos and them becoming Endangered Wildlife. Among the most endangered of rhino’s species are Javan and Sumatran. The White and Black rhinos found in Africa are also critically endangered species of rhinos.
Bonobos are another of the numerous species declared endangered. Within the last 30 years, the population of these has gone down to a great extent. Now, this specie is found only in the Salonga National Park forests. It is a widely known fact that Giant Pandas are highly Endangered Wildlife. Only 2500 of the mature ones are now left in the wilds. The largest populations of these are found in southwest of China and in the east of the Tibetan plateau. The survival of the Giant Panda is very important for the people of the Yangtze Basin in order to benefit from the ecosystem.
The Marine Turtle is Endangered Wildlife species, which possesses coastal habitats and lives in open water. There are seven species of the Marine Turtle and six of these are listed as endangered species. While the female turtle reproduces abundantly, it is only few times that the young turtles survive. The greatest threat to the young turtles is from predators. Humans are also threatening the specie because of their harvesting of turtle eggs and high levels of destruction of nesting beaches.
Polar bears are nearing the point where they will become endangered species. At present, there are about twenty to twenty five thousand of these in the world. Great Whales are also endangered. Out of the thirteen species of Great Whales, seven are highly endangered. The main cause of their high rate of deaths is colliding with ships. They also get entangled in fishing gear. This phenomenon holds true for the whales and dolphins in North Atlantic. In the Western part of North Pacific, there have been extensive developments related to oil and gas. These have put the gray whale a high levels of risk.
Endangered Wildlife Conservation Efforts
Conserving the Endangered Wildlife species is really vital. Over the period of decades, there have been many animals brought back from the brink of extinction because of the conservation efforts. Due to the damaging human activities, the extinction rate of endangered species is about hundred to thousand times higher than the natural rate would be.
