When you think of ‘endangered species,’ what do you think of? Maybe a tiger or a polar bear? But, what about a saiga or a white-bellied pangolin?
Sadly, there are now 41,415 on the ‘red list,’ and approximately 16,306 of them are endangered and threatened with extinction. British photographer Tim Flach was on a mission to capture as many photos of these endangered species as possible. The results are heartbreakingly beautiful.
After spending two years tracking down these elusive species, Flach created a body of work fittingly titled Endangered. His photos offer us a rare glimpse into the lives of these gorgeous, threatened creatures.
Flach’s stunning photos are a reminder for us to have respect for Mother Nature and all of its inhabitants. Before you know it, these unique, wonderful animals will no longer be sharing this planet with us.
Since the beginning of the century, conservation efforts have been able to bring the Iberian Lynx population up from 100 to 326 cats in the wild.
This extremely endangered species is slowly growing; however, there is still only a frightening population of around 1,000 individuals on the planet.
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Reliable population numbers have been hard to come by due to their shy and secretive nature. It’s estimated that there are about 10,000 individuals left on the planet, with a declining population each year.
Thankfully, in 2017 the U.S. Department of Agriculture
announced that the honey bee’s population was up 3% since 2016. A mass extinction of honeybees could be detrimental to the entire planet.
In Brazil, the city of Manus continues to expand and encroach on this unique animal’s territory. The actual population is unknown; however, there are 170 tamarins in captivity throughout the world.
Depletion of fish and loss of habitat has caused this interesting looking creature’s population to drop to less than 235 individuals.
From 1900 to now, the cheetah population dropped from 100,000 to around 9-12,000 individuals in the wild. In Iran, there are about 200 cheetahs that live in isolated locations as well.
These intimidating birds are found in Eastern Africa. It’s estimated that their population ranges between 5,000 to 8,000.
Found throughout Southern Africa, the hippopotamus is identified as a vulnerable species; it has a population range between 125,000 and 150,000.
Noted as one of the world’s critically endangered species, the saiga had a
mass die-off 2010 when 12,000 of them suddenly died in Kazakhstan.
Thankfully, these Southern American lizards still have a population around 200,000 to 300,000; however, habitat destruction due to tourism is a constant threat to this species.
Considered extremely endangered due to habitat loss and illegal trade, the Kaiser’s newt has an approximated population of around 9,000 individuals.
Living in caves of the Denali Alps, this salamander is completely blind. In fact, it never develops eyes at all! Very sensitive to climate changes, this amphibian has been on the rare and endangered species list since 1982.
14. Northern White Rhinoceros
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This gorgeous animal is on the verge of extinction. As of
today, there are only 3 left in captivity at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. They are the only 3 left in the world, and only one of them is male.
Sturgeon can live up to 100 years old; however, they are being hunted for their caviar which can fetch up to $10,000/kg.
16. White-Bellied Pangolin
This incredible animal is constantly hunted and exploited by poachers for their meat and use in traditional medicine. Exact numbers of their population are currently unknown.
There has been a rapid decline of these endangered vultures. In India, they have seen a 35% decline in population each year since 1999.
The polar bear population has been extremely difficult to track. Biologists estimate that numbers could have a range from 20 to 25,000 worldwide.
This large-nosed monkey’s population has seen a 50% decrease in population over the past 36-40 years due to habitat loss from oil plantations and logging.
The hooded vulture is considered to be “critically endangered.” This is due to indiscriminate poisoning, trade for traditional medicine, hunting, persecution, electrocution, habitat loss, and degradation.
The
good news is, the Giant Panda’s population is on slowly on the rise. The bad news is, the population is still on 1,864
— up from 1,596 in 2003.
22. Western Lowland Gorillas
Although the Western Lowland Gorilla is the most widespread of gorillas, they are constantly being threatened by hunters and habitat destruction. There are approximately 100,000 of them left.
This strange swimming creature is a type of sea slug and can be found in cold oceans under ice, or equatorial climates; however, due to shifts in global temperatures, their populations are dwindling.
24. Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey
These beautiful monkeys live in Southwestern China and have a population of approximately 8,000-15,000 individuals left in the wild.
The poaching trade in Africa has caused the deaths of over 144,000 elephants in less than a decade. Currently, there are
approximately 352,000 African elephants left.
Fireflies have been on the rapid decline in recent years. Habitat loss and pesticides have brought populations down to zero in some areas.
One of the largest species of crane in the world, there are only 1,700-2,000 of them left.
As of 2017, there are only 2,000 ring-tailed lemurs in the wild due to poaching, hunting, and habitat loss.
Deforestation has caused this gorgeous bird’s population to decrease to less than 10,000 globally.
As of
2015, there are only 600 of these regal birds left in the wild. They are the national bird of the Philippines.
There are only about 6,500 of these blue beauties left in the world. This is because their native forests are being replaced by crops and cattle ranching which is creating shortages of nesting sites.
There are an estimated 3,500 to 7,000 of these gorgeous cats left on Earth. They are often poached for their bones, skin and organs for traditional Asian medicine when people can’t find regular tigers. Humans have also decimated their habitats.
The ploughshare or angonoka tortoise is a critically endangered species. There are between 400 and 770 of them left and they are expected to be extinct in the next 10 to 15 years.
These animals were once widespread but went extinct in the wild in 2000. There are about 1,750 that are being bred in captivity.
This species of hammerhead shark has been on the globally endangered species list since 2008. Their populations have experienced a 95 percent decline in the past 3o years due to overfishing and the rise in demand for shark fins.
Estimates show that there are only about 350 to 400 of these gorgeous birds left in the wild. These low numbers are attributed to their capture for the pet trade.
37. Yellow-Eyed Tree Frog
The yellow eye tree frog population has gone down almost 50 percent since the 1990s. This is due to climate change, pet trade and a damaging fungus.
These funky frogs have been put on the critically endangered list after they’ve seen a population decline of more than 80 percent over the last 10 years. This has mostly been blamed on the infectious amphibian disease chytridiomycosis.
39. Yunan Snub Nosed Monkey
These monkeys are also known as the black snub-nosed monkey or the Yunnan golden hair monkey. Their species has been endangered due to habitat loss.
40. Smooth Fronted Cayman
This South American crocodile is endangered due to the destruction and pollution of its habitat from gold mining. They are also victims of the pet trade.
The Siamese crocodile is a critcally endangered species and has gone locally extinct in certain regions. There are still some left in the wild in Cambodia.
There were once nine species of Partula snails but three of those species have since gone extinct while a fourth species is only believed to exist in captivity. This is due to the French Polynesian government’s allowance of importing African land snails as a food source. When the African land snails started eating local crops, a predatory snail was brought into control it but they ended up eating the Partula snails instead of the African snail.
The axolotl is a salamander that can regenerate limbs and parts of it’s own brain. They are used extensively in scientific research for this reason. The Aztec people believed the Axolotl was a manifestation of the god xolotl. They are near extinction due to the urbanization in Mexico City and subsequent water pollution, as well as invasive species such as tilapia and perch.
The United States is considering whether or not to protect the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act. Their population has plummted over 80 percent in the past 20 years because of habitat loss.
The black rhinoceroes is considered to be critically endangered. Three of their subspecies is extinct already, including the western black rhino. Many poach the animals for their horns.
It is estimated that more than 90 percent of the world’s coral reefs
will die by 2050. More than half of the world’s coral reefs are already gone. Much of it is due to rising ocean temperatures.
Bengal tiger numbers have decreased along with the destruction of their habitats. There are about 2,500 individuals remaining that mostly live on 50 tiger reserves in India.
48. White-Backed African Vulture
These guys are on the critically endangered list. A flock of them can strip a cow carcass to the bone in an hour.
49. Rio Pescado Stubfoot Toad
The total population of the
Rio Pescado Stubfoot Toad is currently unknown. But they are only located in south-western Ecuador where they are being killed off by chtridiomycosis and habitat desstruction.
Mandrills are found in the tropical rainforests of southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo. They are considered to be vulnerable due to hunting for bushmeat and deforestation.
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