Conservation Status

Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)

Conservation Status: Endangered

Total population: Fewer than 2,500 individuals with a decreasing trend. The largest of all the Asian big cats, tigers rely primarily on sight and sound rather than smell. A tiger’s roar can be heard as far as 3 km away. Across their range, tigers face unrelenting pressure from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss. They are forced to compete for space with dense and often growing human populations. 97% of wild tigers were lost in just over a century.

Indian Elephants (Elephas maximus indicus)

Conservation status: Endangered

Total population has declined by at least 50% over the last 60 to 75 years or three generations.Indian elephants may spend up to 19 hours a day for feeding and they need to drink at least once a day, these elephants are always close to a source of fresh water. The greatest threats facing elephants today are poaching, conflict with humans, and habitat loss and degradation. Elephants across Africa and Asia are being poached for their ivory at increasing levels.

Anamalai Flying Frog (Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

Listed as Critically Endangered because its extent of occurrence is less than 100 km2, all individuals are in a single location and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat and number of individuals. The main threat is conversion of forested areas to cultivated land (including timber and non-timber plantations) outside the Indira Gandhi National Park, and the extraction of wood and timber by local people.

Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

Population: As few as 35 individuals left in one national park in Indonesia. Javan rhinos are the most threatened of the five rhino species. This species is extremely vulnerable to extinction due to natural catastrophes, diseases, poaching, political disturbances and genetic drift. The biology of the species is poorly understood, with techniques for accurately estimating their numbers not fully developed.

Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

Only a total of 19–26 Amur leopards extant in the wild. Amur leopard can run at speeds of up to 37 miles per hour. This incredible animal has been reported to leap more than 19 feet horizontally and up to 10 feet vertically. Amur leopard is poached largely for its beautiful, spotted fur. Amur leopards are threatened by poaching, encroaching civilization, new roads, exploitation of forests and climate change.

Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuc)

Conservation status: Endangered

There are only about 1,000 giant pandas left in the wild. Perhaps 100 pandas live in zoos. Most of the giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China. The giant panda has an insatiable appetite for bamboo. A typical animal eats half the day (12 hrs.) It takes 12.5 kilograms of bamboo to satisfy a giant panda’s daily dietary needs. Pandas will sometimes eat birds or rodents as well. Poaching the animals for their furremains an ever-present threat. giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuc)

Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

In common with other Gyps species, the Indian vulture has suffered serious declines since the late 1990s, losing as much as 95 percent of the population. The unnaturally high death toll was thought to be caused by a fatal virus, but testing has revealed that vultures are suffering from kidney failure following the consumption of cattle that had previously been treated with the anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac.

Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

The status of this crane is critical and the world population is estimated to be around 3200–4000, nearly all of them belonging to the eastern breeding population. Of the 15 crane species this is the most threatened.The wintering site at Poyang in China holds an estimated 98% of the population and is threatened by hydrological changes caused by the Three Gorges Dam and other water development projects.

Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica)

Conservation status: Endangered

Population is 1200-1800 individuals. The Ganges River dolphin, or susu, inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India and Bangladesh. This vast area has been altered by the construction of more than 50 dams and other irrigation-related projects with direct consequences for the river dolphins. The Ganges River dolphin is threatened by removal of river water and siltation arising from deforestation, pollution and entanglement in fisheries nets. In addition, alterations to the river due to barrages are also separating populations.

Forest Owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

Between 100 and 250 forest owlets is believed to be left in the wild. Thought to be extinct for over 100 years until its rediscovery in 1997, the forest owlet is one of the rarest and least-known of India’s endemic bird species. In addition to habitat loss, the forest owlet faces a serious threat as a result of local superstitions. The eggs are collected by tribal people to bring luck in gambling and the animal itself is killed since owls are locally renowned to “feed on human souls”. Killing a young owl is widely considered to boost fertility.

White-Bellied-Heron (Ardea insignis)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

With roughly 200 White-Bellied Herons in the world today, herons are among the 50 rarest bird species on earth.They are found in the wetlands of forests in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas of India and Myanmar. It is under grave threat of extinction in Bhutan due to accelerated development of large-scale hydro-power projects in the basin. Rising water levels force the nesting birds to search extensively for fish, leaving the eggs or chicks exposed to predators such as the Crested Serpent Eagle.

Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigrice)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

Population is estimated at less than 250 individuals .The great Indian bustard is one of the largest flying bird species found in the world today.Males have a gular pouch right below the tongue, which helps produce a resonant booming mating call to attract females and can be heard up to a distance of 500 meters.The major threat at present is hunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub

Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

Conservation status: Endangered

Between 5,000 and 12,000 blue whales are believed to still swim the world’s oceans. Blue whales were abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth until the beginning of the twentieth century. They were hunted almost to extinction by whalers until protected by the International Whaling Commission in 1966,but they have managed only a minor recovery since then. Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. When a blue whale exhales, the spray from its blowhole can reach nearly 30 ft (9m) into the air.

Gahrial (Gavialis gangeticus)

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

The total population, wild and captive, is estimated at fewer than 1,000. Gharials are named for the bulbous structure on the tip of the snout in adult males. The word gharial is derived from the Hindi word, “ghara,” which means, “mud pot.” It was misread by Europeans who changed the word to gavial. Thus, Gavialisgangeticus is known both as gavial and gharial.Two possible functions have been attributed to “ghara”: as a vocal resonator (which produces a loud buzzing noise during vocalization) and as a visual signal to females.The major threat at present is habitat loss due to human encroachment and disruption of populations through fishing and hunting activities.

Sea Turtle

Conservation status: Endangered

Sea turtles are a fundamental link in marine ecosystems. They help maintain the health of sea grass beds and coral reefs that benefit commercially valuable species such as shrimp, lobster and tuna. Sea turtles are the live representatives of a group of reptiles that have existed on Earth and traveled our seas for the last 100 million years. Turtles have major cultural significance and tourism value.

Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli )

Conservation status: Critically Endangered

Population is 200-300 individuals. Cross River gorillas live in a region populated by many humans who have encroached upon the gorilla’s territory—clearing forests for timber and to create fields for agriculture and livestock. Poaching occurs in the forests as well, and the loss of even a few of these gorillas has a detrimental effect on such a small population. The population risks inbreeding and a loss of genetic diversity because there are so few Cross River gorillas and they live in groups that interact infrequently if at all.