Experts from the famous World Wildlife Fund claim that over the past quarter century, the biological diversity of our planet has decreased by about a third. Dozens of plant and animal species are included in the lists of the lost forever.
The current Top 10 includes the rarest animals on Earth... There are few of them left, but still these species can still be saved if you make every effort.
10. Bison
It is the largest and heaviest mammal in Europe. The European bison is the last of the European wild bulls. Today, their number does not exceed 3000 individuals, and about a hundred live in captivity. Previously, bison inhabited the zone of deciduous and mixed forests of the Caucasus, Northern Iran, Central, Western and Southeastern Europe.
9. Helmet cassowary
This large flightless bird has a very expressive appearance. Individual individuals weigh about 80 kg and reach 1.5 meters in length. Mostly cassowaries live in northeastern Australia and in the rainforests of New Guinea. Currently, the population of helmet cassowary is 1500 individuals.
8. Gavial
One of the slowest animals the freakiest and rare crocodiles in the world by 1970 were considered almost completely extinct. However, thanks to an artificial crocodile breeding program developed in India, the gharial population has been increased to 1,500 individuals. Despite this, even today reptiles die, entangled in fishing nets, their eggs are in demand on the black market, and males are exterminated due to growths on the nose, considering them aphrodisiacs.
7. Giant panda
The handsome man depicted on the logo of the World Wildlife Fund is known all over the world. However, this does not help her to avoid a slow disappearance. Once the panda lived throughout South Asia, today it can only be found on the outskirts of the Tibetan plateau. The total number of the species is about 1200 individuals.
6. Snow leopard
This rare predator once lived in the mountains of Central Asia. Outwardly, it resembles a white leopard, but is smaller and has a long fluffy tail. The snow leopard is quite difficult to find in the wild. Currently, the number of the species does not exceed 2000 individuals and continues to decline.
5. Przewalski's horses
They were the last wild horses to inhabit the plains of Asia. The reason for the extinction of these animals was the Mongol tribes, who hunted them for delicious meat. Today in the world there are no more than 1000 individuals that are kept in captivity. People never managed to tame Przewalski's horse, because she is naturally not amenable to training.
4. Mountain gorillas
Large primates inhabit the dense forests of the Republic of Congo, southwestern Uganda and Rwanda. Despite its considerable size and formidable appearance, it is a very peaceful and sociable animal. However, natural disasters, predatory destruction by poachers, human-transmitted diseases and destruction of natural habitats have led to a decrease in the number of these monkeys to 720 individuals.
3. Amur tiger
One of the rarest representatives of the world fauna is listed in the Red Book due to the fact that it is under the threat of complete extinction. The northernmost tiger species lives in the southeast of Russia.The intensive extermination of these predators and the reduction of their habitats due to human activities led to the fact that by the end of the 1930s there were only 50 of them left. Today the number of Amur tigers ranges from 4 hundred individuals.
2. Javan rhino
Javanese is the most mysterious of all rhinos. Previously, this one-horned animal could be found in Southeast Asia, as well as in the Greater Sunda Islands. Today, the Javanese rhino is found only in Indonesia and on the island of Java. There is definitely no such animal in any zoo in the world, and no more than 25-30 rhinos live in the wild today.
1. Chinese river dolphin
This aquatic mammal was native to eastern China. River dolphins have no natural enemies, but human activities, pollution of the Yangtze River, construction of dams and drainage of land have led to the fact that the number of animals has decreased to 30 individuals. Alas, representatives of this rarest species practically do not survive in captivity.
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