Hunting, pollution, diseases, and habitat loss are all reasons why many species are critically endangered. Below is a list of five well-known animals that are all critically endangered.
Black Rhino Diceros bicornis
The black rhino is one of the two species of African rhinos, this one being smaller. Only around 5000 remain. It was between 1960 and 1995 when the population dropped 98% because of poaching and illegal trade. Thankfully, now their population is back up to 5000—still considered critically endangered.
Orangutan
104,700 Bornean orangutans, 13,846 Sumatran orangutans, and only 800 Tapanuli are left in the wild. Sumatran and Bornean orangutans had a healthy population around a century ago, but now, numbers declined sharply. Announced in November 2017, the Tapanuli orangutan is the most endangered at 800 in existence.
Hawksbill Turtle
Over the last century, hawksbill turtles’ populations have declined by over 80%. Threats include poaching, pollution climate change, habitat loss, and especially wildlife trade. They are in demand for their shell, which can be made into jewelry and decorations.
Blue Whale
Weighing at around 181.4 tonnes or 181,437 kilograms, and measuring at around 24 – 30 meters, blue whales are the world’s largest animal. They may not be critically endangered but are still at risk of being endangered. between 1900 and 1960, 360,000 blue whales were killed from hunting. Today, only around 10,000 to 25,000 remain in the wild.
Sunda Tiger
With less than 400 sunda tigers left remaining in the wild, they are classified as critically endangered. They can be found in freshwater swamp forests and tropical broadleaf evergreen forests. Habitat loss, poaching, and prey loss are all contributing to endangerment.
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References:
- Critically endangered on Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critically_endangered
- Species list on WWF – https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status
- Sunda Tiger on WWF – https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sunda-tiger
- Hawksbill turtle on WWF – https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/marine_turtles/hawksbill_turtle
- Orangutan on WWF – https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/orangutan
- Black Rhino on WWF – https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/black-rhino
- Blue whale, facts and photos on National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/b/blue-whale/
- Blue Whale on WWF – https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/blue-whale
