Amazing Animals That Are Nearly Extinct

It's important to appreciate animals that, often due to human intervention, may not be around for much longer. Here’s a list of some awesome animals that, unfortunately are nearly gone from this planet.

Subscribe to Knowledge Feed for awesome mysteries, discoveries, fun topics and all around AWESOME videos !

8. California Condor

One of the world’s rarest birds, there were only an estimated 435 California Condors in December 2015. They were completely extinct in the wild by 1987, but there were 27 surviving birds that were bred at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. Beginning in 1991 they were reintroduced to the wild. Apart from being the rarest bird they are also one of the longest living, having a lifespan of up to 60 years.

7. Black Rhino

At one time the black rhino was one of the most numerous of it's species, numbering several hundred thousand in 1900. Nothing about this animals shocking decline since has been natural. European settlers that arrived in Africa in the early 20th century killed them for food or simply for amusement driving their numbers to just a few thousand. Efforts from conservation organization like the World Wildlife Foundation that began in the early 1960’s likely saved this creature from total extinction. These animals are massive, weighing in at 3 thousand pounds, sometimes even more. Despite this they’re pretty swift, capable of reaching up to 35 miles per hour in a dead sprint.

6. Bornean Orangutan

Borneo is the third largest island in the world, It lies in Southeast Asia and is home to some twenty million people. It’s also the native island of the critically endangered Bornean Orangutan. Like other great apes they are highly intelligent; they can use tools and share 97% of their DNA with humans. Unfortunately their population had declined by over 50 percent in the last six decades and they have lost over half of their habitat in the last 20 years.

5. Mountain Gorilla

Around half of the 700 or so gorillas remaining in the world live in the Virunga Mountains of Central Africa. The area is a battleground for militia groups and the Congolese army. In this picture we see anti poaching units and conservation rangers from the Virunga National Park carrying the bodies of mountain gorillas whose lives were taken under mysterious circumstances. People feel that the attacks were politically motivated.

4. Monte Iberia Eleuth

One of the smallest species of frogs on the planet, the monte iberia eleuth wasn’t discovered by humans until the early 1990’s. They are only known to exist in two small regions of Cuba and though they are hard to see, they are easy to identify thanks to the two yellow stripes that run along it's back.

3. Vaquita

Not only are these animals near extinction, but they are the single rarest marine mammal on the planet. Their numbers have been steadily declining since there were an estimated six hundred twenty years ago. Today there are no more than 30 and a last ditch effort to attempt to reproduce them in a sanctuary is set to begin later this year. On average they are a bit smaller than humans in body mass and can only be found in the northern end of the Gulf of California.

2. Cross River Gorilla

These gorilla’s are extremely wary of and unusually aggressive towards humans, which along with their inclination to inhabit rugged territory has made their scant numbers hard to predict. Using indirect signs however, their population is thought to number only 2 to 3 hundred, spread across the forests of Cameroon and Nigeria. They have every reason to dislike humans, who have encroached on their territory by clearing their forest homes for timber and have been the main reason for their critically endangered status.

It's too bad these amazing creatures are endangered but it's so important to learn about their predicaments so that maybe we can do a better job of coexisting with our fellow Earth occupants. As always thank you so much for watching and we hope you enjoy our next video.

1. Radiated Tortoise

Radiated tortoises are blessed with an extremely long lifespan that can be at least twice that of a human being. The oldest ever recorded was Tui Malila, who lived to the ripe old age of approximately 188. They only occur naturally in the southern part of Madagascar. These beautiful creatures are considered endangered due to loss of habitat and poaching, which has cut their numbers down at an alarming rate.