5 More Animals That Are About To Go Extinct

I've spent years of my life traveling the world looking for animals on the edge of existence, and some of them are just likely not going to make it back. So today we're diving into five animals that are about to go extinct. We'll be looking at why they're in danger, what's being done to protect them, and whether there's any hope left for them at all. And first up, a shark so rare that it might already be gone. The aptly named lost shark. The lost shark is arguably the rarest fish species in the world. The sad story about this shark is that it is so elusive that it may have disappeared before we ever truly even got to know anything about its ecology. It's only known from three specimens collected over 80 years ago in Borneo, Vietnam, and Thailand. What's crazy is it was a late-term embryo and two juvenile females. We know so little about this species that it was previously thought to be the closely related small-tail shark, and it was only later that scientists found subtle little differences in both their fin placement and their vertebral counts, essentially revealing it as a new species now named the lost shark. The last record of the species was from 1934, and none have been reported since then. Now, unfortunately, because of this, we know little else about its life. It's thought that its limited ability to produce offspring and the fact that it lives in shallow waters that are easily accessed by fishermen put it at heavy risk of extinction. Despite this negative outlook, some scientists still have hope. There have been a lot of marine species, especially sharks, that have been found after being labeled extinct. Look at what our good buddy Dr. Dave Ebert has done, who is literally known as the Lost Shark Guy, who has found hundreds of lost shark species brought back from what we thought had been gone forever. Yet for now, the only lost shark specimens exist in museum jars. It's classified as critically endangered or possibly extinct by the IUCN. But this species is in serious trouble. Right now, this is the rarest shark on the planet, and possibly even the rarest fish in the world. I'd rate the likelihood of saving this species at a pretty low 2 out of 10, but I do think that it's still out there. Next up, let's head to the snowy forests of Russia, where one of the rarest big cats on Earth is clinging to survival. The Amur Leopard The Amur Leopard is one of the rarest big cats on the planet. Once roaming across eastern Siberia, northeastern China, and the Korean Peninsula, the Amur Leopard's range has now been reduced to just tiny fragments of forest. Adapted to survive harsh winters, this leopard, unlike other leopards, have long, thick fur with widely spaced rosettes, and its body is built for stalking deer, wild boar, and smaller mammals through deep, deep snow. These leopards are solitary and highly territorial. And like leopards in Africa and on the Asian subcontinent, they occupy very large home ranges of up to 115 miles. And at any point, if prey is scarce, their territory expands so they can hunt over greater distances. The decline of the Amur Leopard was primarily the result of poaching and habitat loss. In the past century, tons of leopards were hunted for their beautiful pelts. Not to mention, their prey was also targeted, leaving the cats struggling to find proper food in the wild. Furthermore, deforestation, human encroachment into their habitat, and frequent forest fires destroyed vital hunting grounds for these beautiful animals. This resulted in a genetic bottleneck, and with that comes inbreeding. This is a serious concern as it results in reduced genetic diversity and lower cub survival rates. Disease outbreaks also posed a significant risk to such a small population. By the early 2000s, fewer than 40 individuals remained in the wild, restricted to the snowy forests along the Russia-China border. But today, thanks to ongoing conservation efforts, the population has slowly grown to around 130 adults and sub-adults in the wild. Not to mention, there are over 200 in captivity around the world. This global captive population is managed to conserve the species, gene pool, and of course, to create a breeding population for future potential rewilding efforts. However, despite all these things, the species still remains critically endangered. Conservation efforts have been extensive, and they continue to be critical. Russian and Chinese authorities, along with organizations like the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance, have established protected areas, anti-poaching patrols, and cross-border monitoring programs. The hundreds of trail cams placed through their habitat help track their ongoing population growth and movement patterns. In fact, just last year, an Amur leopard family was caught on trail camera for the first time ever. This just shows that they are slowly bouncing back, and most importantly, breeding in the wild. Although these developments are amazing in itself, the species recovery remains fragile, with each individual leopard incredibly vital to the survival of the entire global population. But when you take into account the fact that now, for the first time, we're seeing reproduction in the wild, we're capturing family groups on trail camera, there's 200 or so across the world in breeding programs, and there are these dedicated conservation efforts, I actually think that the likelihood of saving the Amur leopard and seeing their population stabilize in the wild is an optimistic 7 out of 10. Now, let's move from the forests of Russia to the rivers of South America, where one croc has almost disappeared. The Aronoco crocodile. The Aronoco crocodile is one of the most endangered reptiles in the world. Once widespread across the middle and lower reaches of the Aronoco River Basin, it now only survives in fragmented populations, primarily in Venezuela, with a smaller population in Colombia. The population was absolutely decimated in the 19th and 20th centuries by relentless hunting for its beautiful skin, leaving the species teetering on the edge of extinction. Today, estimates suggest that there's only between 250 and 1,500 individuals remaining in the wild, making it a literal ghost of the river. This species typically grows to around 14 feet long and can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. We know little about the ecology or behavior of this species, mainly due to its rarity and secretive nature. It's thought that in the wild, they're primarily fish eaters, but also, like almost every other crocodilian species, it will eat almost anything that crosses its path, whether it's a bird, another reptile, another crocodile, a fish, you name it. Although the trait of their skin is now banned, Arnoco crocodiles are still hunted for their meat and eggs, and new threats such as habitat loss and pollution of the rivers and streams leave the crocodile struggling to reproduce naturally in the wild. And this is why conservation efforts have literally become the lifeline of this species. After protection laws were introduced in the 1970s, captive breeding programs in Venezuela and Colombia slowly begun re-releasing and rewilding these crocodiles into national parks and reserves through its once-natural range. The ongoing future of this species literally depends on the ongoing conservation of the Arnoco River Basin. In fact, to just brag for a minute, I actually got to meet an Arnoco crocodile a few years ago at the Incredible Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri. I was lucky enough to perform a health check on this beautiful animal, of which there are very few left. Now, not only did we get to check this animal out, give him a health check, handle him, but that individual is on track to head back down to the Arnoco Basin for rewilding, which I think is just incredible and gives me goosebumps knowing that I get to handle an animal that's going to go back into the wild to help save its species. So even in the face of near extinction, I really do believe that this crocodile definitely has a good chance of bouncing back. They are actively breeding in captivity. There are programs in Venezuela and Colombia to protect them. There is active habitat restoration taking place. Yes, there is poaching for meat and eggs, but it is way more controlled now than it ever was before. So I really do believe that this animal is going to bounce back and eventually stabilize their population. And that's why I rate the likelihood of saving the Arnoco crocodile at a very strong 8 out of 10. Next up, an odd looking dolphin that lives in some of the murkiest waters on Earth. The Irrawaddy dolphin. The Irrawaddy dolphin has got to be one of the most unusual and rare dolphins in the world, instantly recognizable by its rounded head, small rounded weird dorsal fin and grayish blue coloring. Unlike typical oceanic dolphins, Irrawaddy's prefer shallow murky brackish rivers and estuaries. This species is small, only growing up to about nine feet long, and they're often seen in pairs or small pods. Historically, this species ranged across Southeast Asia and even as far as the Philippines and New Guinea. Today, they only exist in small subpopulations scattered around Asia. And in 2022, it was declared extinct in the country of Laos. So why are Irrawaddy dolphins so rare? Well, as is the case with nearly every rare animal around the world, humans are to blame. Go figure. Entanglement and gillnets, crab traps and dragnets is their leading cause of death. And not to mention habitat degradation, lots of mining, destroying critical feeding and breeding grounds, dynamite fishing in the Mekong River has almost entirely wiped out that local subpopulation. And unlike marine dolphins, who are way more adaptable, Irrawaddy's are slow swimmers and extremely susceptible to stress. Their small pod sizes and slow reproductive rates mean that once their population numbers drop, recovery is painstakingly slow, in some cases near impossible. However, conservation efforts are underway. Major countries in Southeast Asia have established protected areas that restrict gillnetting and implement community-based dolphin project programs, which I actually think is the key. I believe when you can get citizen science involved, you can get people to care, you can get the community to help be a part of it and build ecotourism around something, that's when we're looking to have a positive outcome. So although that's really positive and the species is showing signs of recovery, sadly, it could be short-lived due to another reason, all the pollution and bad practices that we're seeing in that part of the world. This creature is clinging to survival in nearly every river it inhabits. And if those river systems are not looked after properly, we could have another potential sort of vaquita situation, which is a small marine porpoise that's disappearing on our hands, go check out our video on that if you don't know what I'm talking about. So if you think about this beautiful dolphin, you think about its incredible range, how broad it used to be, but the fact that it occupies these niche habitats of rivers and estuarine systems, and the fact that pollution and stress lead them to their demise, and when they get into small enough of a group, it's almost impossible for them to bounce back, the outlook is not great. But there is this community support, there are these programs in place, and it is an incredible animal that really, really does not deserve to be let go. So it's hard to say, but at this point in time, I sort of give the likelihood of saving the species a pretty soft 5 out of 10. I'd kind of say 50-50 on this one because there's not enough action in place, so hopefully soon. Next up, an African forest giant that's so rare that most people go their whole lives without ever seeing one, the mountain bongo. The mountain bongo is arguably one of Africa's most spectacular and rare antelopes, instantly recognizable by its rich chestnut coat, white stripes, and amazing looking horns. Unlike most antelopes in Africa that are used to the savannas and grasslands, bongos are almost exclusively forest specialists, capable of moving at surprising speeds through the dense undergrowth. They're mostly nocturnal and extremely elusive, making sightings in the wild extraordinarily rare. Historically, bongos roamed across East and Central Africa, but today, the eastern subspecies, the mountain bongo, is restricted entirely to four small isolated forested mountain regions in central Kenya. And estimates by scientists suggest that fewer than 140 individuals remain in the wild. Once common in their highland habitats, these forest giants are now among the rarest large mammals on Earth. So why is the mountain bongo so rare, may you ask? Well, human activity has relentlessly pushed the species to the brink. Habitat loss from logging, agricultural expansion, infrastructure and development has fragmented the forest that it once used to live in. And of course, poaching for their beautiful coats, horns, and even the bushmeat has further decimated the numbers. People, even some from the U.S. to this day, go into the forests of Africa to hunt bongos, which to me is insane knowing that they are so incredibly rare and that they have this insanely slow reproductive rate of only one calf per year after a 285-day gestation period, which means the recovery, like our previous animals, of the population is painstakingly slow. Efforts to save the mountain bongo have achieved some success with around 400 in-captive breeding programs around the world. However, Kenyan wildlife authorities have been critical in rehabilitating and releasing captive-bred individuals into the wild. Trail cams and field surveys have helped locate the remaining wild populations and monitor their genetic diversity. Yet, enforcement to stop people from killing these animals on the ground is inconsistent because it's Africa, and unfortunately, poaching still continues. The survival of the mountain bongo in the wild still literally hangs by a thread. Right now, the species is critically endangered, and while captive populations are strong, the wild animals are dangerously few and far between. But there is a silver lining to this. Anytime that people with a lot of money, like Westerners, want to go to Africa to kill something, to hunt it, to put it on their wall because it's so rare and so beautiful, it places an economic value on that animal. And while I personally don't get it or agree with going to kill that, having economic value on the mountain bongo means that if it disappears from the wild altogether, that's an entire tourism industry gone. And for that reason, for that economic incentive, I actually believe that the likelihood of the mountain bongo bouncing back to be a viable sports animal to keep it around at whatever it takes is actually pretty high. I'm going to rank this guy at a 7 out of 10. Hey, I hope you guys enjoyed this. I love talking about animals on the edge of extinction. It's one of my favorite topics, and it's so important that we all learn more about it together. If you want to learn more about it, do me a favor, like, comment, and subscribe to the channel. See you out there.