8 Of the Rarest Animals on the Planet

Because of the change of their natural habitat, certain species of animals face extinction.  Although conservationists are doing everything they can to save these animals, some of them are threatened to be wiped out in less than a century.

Below are 8 of the rarest animals on earth in the wild.

Amur Leopards

These big cats are a very rare leopard subspecies found in Russia’s Primorye region. As of 2007, a population count resulted with around 14 to 20 adults and 5 to 6 cubs surviving, making them one of around 2,300 species tagged as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One of these leopards is found at the Nebraska's Omaha Zoo.

Sumatran Rhinoceros

There is an estimate of less than275 individuals left of these Rhinoceros. Like all other rhinos, they face extinction because of poaching and hunting. They’re killed for their horns. One male specimen is taken care of by the Florida White Oak Conservation Center.

Western Lowland Gorilla

A survey during the 1980’s suggested that Ebola virus outbreaks and commercial hunting caused the fast drop of this gorilla specie’s population. Native to Africa, these huge animals are slowly building their population up with the help of biologist and conservationists. The Cincinnati Zoo houses a few of these gorillas in their enclosure.

Mountain Pygmy Possum

Found in Australia, these are the only mammals which stay in alpine environments. The population of these pygmy possums started severely depleting because of a number of ski resorts and development projects in their natural habitat.

Philippine Crocodile

One of the smallest crocodile species, male specimen commonly grow to around 3 meters or 10 feet long. They stay in lakes, marshes, ponds and other small bodies of water, which are widely being converted to rice paddies. They also suffer from hunting, as well as destructive methods of fishing.

Sumatran Orangutan

These orangutans are native to Sumatra island in Indonesia. Since they spend most of their time in the canopies and are exclusively tree dwellers, they faced danger when Sumatra’s forest started to become barren due to increased logging activities. There’s an estimated 7,300 individuals in the wild.

Northern Bald Ibis

There was a point in time when these birds were thought to be extinct, until it was again seen in the Syrian Desert close to Palmyra during the early 2002. Hunting and habitat disturbance are the main reasons behind the decline of their population.

Black-Eyed Tree Frog

Scientist says that the population of these frogs will decrease even more over the next decade. They’re native to some parts of South America and Mexico and face habitat destruction. A fungus which infects amphibians is also a threat to their population.