World’s Endangered Animals: Which Species are Most at Risk as of 2024?

Endangered animals are known to be threatened with being closer to extinction. Due to habitat loss and overhunting, some animal species of today are experiencing drastic population decline due to various factors, including human activities. Combined with wildlife trafficking, climate change, and pollution, wildlife as we know it could disappear or be less than ever before by the middle or end of the 21st century.

Over the decades, conservationists, scientists, and other concerned groups have made efforts to protect endangered species of animals, as well as plants.

However, in recent years, researchers have found that different marine and terrestrial ecosystems are at risk and are threatened by anthropogenic or human-induced climate change. Furthermore, natural disasters such as droughts and global warming are threatening biodiversity.

World's Endangered Animals

There are many animal species with a conservation status of being "endangered," a term used to describe any species of flora and fauna that are not doing very well. For animals, they typically become endangered due to excessive hunting or habitat destruction, according to the Australian Museum. This means that an endangered animal is close to extinction, entailing that its kind is no longer abundant in the world.

Over the last 100 years, Earth has seen the extinction of previously endangered animal species such as the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, golden toad, paradise parrot, Sicilian wolf, and others. While scientists have monitored the populations of wildlife until now, the threat is far from over.

Below are some of the world's most endangered animals or species most at risk as of March 2024, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF):

• Javan rhino
• Amur leopard
• Sunda Island tiger or Sumatran tiger
• Mountain gorilla
• Tapanuli orangutan
• Yangtze finless porpoise
• Black rhino
• African forest elephant
• Sumatran orangutan
• Hawksbill turtle

The database of the world's endangered animals is based on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Currently, there are over 44,000 species threatened with extinction out of more than 157,100 species on the IUCN Red List.

The percentage of threatened animals on the list includes 41% amphibians, 37% sharks and rays, 36% corals, 34% conifers, 26% mammals, and 12% birds.

Major Threats to Endangered Species

While there is a myriad of factors against endangered animals, previous studies have shown both natural and artificial phenomena serve as major threats to endangered species. According to wildlife experts, the combination of habitat loss or destruction, natural disasters, diseases, illegal wildlife trade, and urbanization are some of the greatest contributors to animal population decline.

According to the non-profit charity organization, Animal Charity Evaluators, predation, starvation, and human-wildlife conflict are also major threats to wildlife. To prevent or mitigate biodiversity loss, there are several ways to protect wildlife such as raising awareness, preserving natural habitats, choosing plant-based options, and other related measures.