Endangered Animals Of The World - Endangered Species List

Over the past few centuries, the growth in technology and human population has had a significant impact on wildlife in every corner of the globe.

In North America, early western expansion across the continent, and the rapid industrial growth that followed, introduced humans into areas where they had never had a significant influence before. In the centuries since, a combination of population growth, pollution and ignorance of environmental conservation have caused the near-extinction of several species, and the localized elimination of many creatures from their historical ranges.

In Asia, the population growth in the last century has been explosive, and as people have  spread out across that great continent, they brought with them pollutants and habitat destruction on a massive scale. Animals that were historically seen as cultural treasures and icons - Tigers, Vultures, Pandas, Rhinos, Elephants and more - are disappearing rapidly.

In the Oceans of the world, many species have been hunted to the edge of extinction, while others continue to be over-fished despite the clear evidence that such harvesting is unsustainable. Efforts are being made in countries around the world, but the ocean is not under the sovereign control of any nation, so it will take an cooperative, international effort to protect the many marine species that we all depend on to keep the ecosystem in balance and to provide food for the human population.

Learn more about some

Endangered Animal Species from around the World...

In North America, rapid development has had a dire impact on many animal species. The combination of pollution and habitat loss contributed to the decline in many native species across the continent.

Like many other predators, the Gray Wolf was intentionally killed across it's native range in an effort to make the wild lands of North America safe for humans and livestock. Today there are efforts underway to revive some of the wild population of these apex predators...

California Condors once thrived across the American west, but environmental pollutants like DDT had a devastating effect on the wild population. There are only a few hundred of these amazing birds left in the wild, but conservation efforts are underway to reintroduce them to their wild habitat...

Hammerhead Sharks are threatened not only in the waters off of North America, but in all the tropical oceans where they live. The single greatest threats to these amazing fish is the brutal practice of shark-finning for the Shark Fin Soup trade. The high demand and soaring price paid for their fins has put the Hammerhead Shark in dire need of protection...

See more Endangered Species of North America...

The rapid expansion of the human population throughout Asia is threatening some of its most iconic animal species.

Tigers across India and Asia are disappearing at an alarming rate. These majestic cats are being killed for their body parts in use as "medicine", as well as out of fear by farmers who find themselves in competition with the cats for grazing land for their livestock...

In all the world's oceans, the Green Turtle is threatened with extinction because of the intentional harvesting of their eggs from beach front nests. Even though the practice has been banned in many countries, in some places it's too late - in Indonesia, the once prevalent Green Turtle has all but vanished...

The Javan Rhino once roamed all across Asia, but it has been hunted to the point of inevitable extinction. There are just a handful of these creatures left in the wild, and none in captivity. The current generation of these animals will probably be the last...

See more Endangered Species of Asia...

The animals that inhabit the world's oceans are under threat from human interference with their habitats, as well as from a lack of concerted and enforceable conservation efforts.

The Steller Sea Lion once ranged throughout the coastal North Pacific, from Southern California across the Bering Strait and down to Central Asia's Pacific Coast. Today , there are less than 120,000 of this fourth largest seal species left on Earth, and competition for fish caught for human consumption is depriving them of their natural food source...

The Blue Whale was hunted almost to the point of extinction in the early 20th century, and their worldwide population dropped from over 200,000 to less than 5,000 in the last one hundred years. No longer hunted, the Blue Whale's greatest struggle today is to rebuild their reduced numbers...

See more Endangered Marine Species of the World and learn some facts about Animals Endangered By The Gulf Oil Spill...

There are endangered animal species in every part of the world.

In Africa, the Bonobo Ape population has dwindled down to less than 5,000 individuals. The greatest threat facing these isolated primates is the illegal bush meat trade...

The Amur Leopard once roamed all of Eastern Asia, but today it is extinct in China and the Korean Peninsula. Illegal poaching for their hides and rapid human development in their native habitat have driven this great cat to the brink of extinction...

See more Endangered Animals Around the World...

_{Panda photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sebastian_bergmann/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
Gray Wolf and Condor photos in the Public Domain from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Hammerhead Shark photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyku/ / CC BY 2.0
Tiger photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/7326810@N08/ / CC BY 2.0
Green Turtle photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/philippeguillaume/ / CC BY 2.0
Javan Rhino image in the Public Domain from WikiMedia
Bonobo photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kjunstorm/ / CC BY 2.0
Amur Leopard photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/ / CC BY 2.0}