Giant Panda (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) : Jeff Tinsley/Smithsonian Institution

 giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Jeff Tinsley/Smithsonian Institution
Everyone loves a panda…they might be the kitschiest animal humanity has driven to the
brink of extinction yet. From stuffed animals to martial arts-trained CGI abominations, we
just can’t seem to get enough of the bi-colored beasts. Though their “aww factor” may
verge on the cloying, it hasn’t been without effect. China, which is home to the remaining
wild population of fewer than 2,500 individuals, has since the late 1980s instituted more
stringent habitat protections and poaching has all but ceased. Their status is still tenuous,
though. Their range is fragmented and they are still subject to disease, occasional
predation, and starvation when large swathes of the bamboo on which they feed
completes its life cycle and dies.
 tiger (Panthera tigris)

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William Blake’s “forests of the night,” the stalking grounds of the six subspecies of tiger,
are burning bright. Slash-and-burn agriculture, along with logging, and human
encroachment, have hugely diminished the habitat available to these felines, which
require extensive ranges capable of supporting the large herbivores that constitute the
bulk of their diets. Poaching—for trophies and body parts used in Asian “medicine” —is
thought to pose the greatest threat to tigers. Probably fewer than 4,000 are left in the
wild. In 2014, China explicitly outlawed the consumption of endangered species, including
tigers, whose bones, penises, and other organs are superstitiously believed to have
magical curative powers.
 whooping crane (Grus americana)

International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, WI.
In 1938, the first year a population survey was conducted, only 29 whooping cranes
remained in the wild. Three years later, only 16 were left. Hunting and reduction of their
wetland habitat had vitiated the population and concerted efforts to salvage remnant birds
did not being until the late 1960s. Today, there are over 400 birds, thanks in large part to
innovative breeding programs. Though a plan that involved transferring whooping crane
eggs to the nests of related sandhill cranes for fostering ultimately failed, captive rearing
and reintroduction have established two wild populations in Florida, one of which has
been taught to migrate to Wisconsin. Neither is self-sustaining. The only self-sustaining
population migrates between Alberta, Canada, and Texas, U.S.
 blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

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There are fewer than 25,000 blue whales, the largest animals on the planet. Comprising
several subspecies, blue whales are found in all of the world’s oceans save the Arctic.
The current population is thought to have been reduced by up to 90% by whaling in the
20th century. Commercial hunting of the species was ultimately banned in 1966. The
National Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S. spelled out a recovery plan in 1998. It
stipulated the maintenance of photo databases of individual specimens and the collection
of genetic and migration data in order to better understand the species, which remains at
risk from ship collisions and entanglement in fishing nets.
 Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)

© SunnyS/Fotolia
The IUCN’s best guess on the current population of Asian elephants, which inhabit 13
countries, is around 40,000–50,000. That number may be far lower; some regions
inhabited by the lumbering pachyderms are inaccessible due to the terrain or to political
volatility. Over 50% of the population is concentrated in India. The burgeoning human
population there—and elsewhere in Asia—creates conflicts for space and resources. And
while the tusks of Asian elephants are much smaller than those of their African
counterparts, the Asian species is still poached for its ivory, meat, and skin.
 sea otter (Enhydra lutris)

© Only Fabrizio/Fotolia
The luxurious waterproof coat that insulates sea otters from the chilly waters that they
inhabit almost led to its extinction. A target of the commercial fur trade, the species was
almost wiped out, with only some 2,000 of an estimated 300,000 left by 1911. That year,
an international ban on commercial hunting was enacted. Though that ban, along with
management and conservation measures taken in the wake of the 1972 Marine Mammal
Protection Act, have helped populations recover to perhaps a third of their earlier
numbers, they are highly vulnerable to both natural phenomena such as killer whale
predation and to anthropogenic factors such as oil spills.
 snow leopard (Panthera uncia)
Though it’s called a leopard—and certainly resembles a frosted version of those spotted
habitués of more equatorial regions—the snow leopard is actually more closely related to
the tiger, at least per genetic analysis. Probably fewer than 6,500 remain in the wild,
though due to the remote mountainous terrain preferred by the species, and its elusive
nature, data is hard to come by. The largest populations are in China and Mongolia, with
significant populations in India and Kyrgyzstan as well. Its natural prey include blue sheep
and ibex, but in some areas, it is heavily dependent on domestic animals. The farmers
who depend upon the animals shoot the “problem” leopards. Poaching still constitutes a
major threat to the species, as does overhunting of its natural prey species.
 gorilla (Gorilla beringei andGorilla gorilla)

Richard Gruggiero/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Depending on who you ask, there are either two species of gorilla, the eastern (Gorilla
beringei) and western (Gorilla gorilla), or three subspecies, the eastern lowland, western
lowland, and mountain gorillas. Regardless of who you ask, all gorillas are endangered.
There are probably only around 220,000 left in the wild. Habitat encroachment and
poaching for bushmeat, trophies, and magical talismans have led to substantial losses.
Because their social structure is so complex and because they reproduce slowly—with
females only giving birth once every four years at best—the removal of even a few
individuals from a gorilla troop can catastrophically impact its ability to sustain itself.
 Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

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Between 1996 and 2008, the population of Tasmanian devils dropped some 60% due a
contagious cancer known as Devil Facial Tumour Disease. It continues to decimate
populations of the species, which only occurs on the Australian island of Tasmania. There
may only be 10,000 wild individuals remaining. Captive breeding of uninfected individuals
has been instituted and efforts have been made to develop a vaccine for the cancer,
which is thought to have stemmed from mutated cells from a single specimen.
 orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)

© guenterguni/iStock.com
“Orangutan” is Malaysian for “person of the forest.” Though morphologically they may
resemble melted Muppets more than people, their sophisticated cognitive abilities are
very human indeed. Like gorillas and chimpanzees, they have been known to use tools.
Due in large part to logging and capture for the exotic pet trade, orangutans—restricted to
the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra—number fewer than 60,000 per a
2004 study. Unlike other great apes, they are usually solitary or live in groups of fewer
than three, making them difficult to track and study.

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Giant Panda (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) : Jeff Tinsley/Smithsonian Institution

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 giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Jeff Tinsley/Smithsonian Institution

 tiger (Panthera tigris)

 whooping crane (Grus americana)

 blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

 Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)

 sea otter (Enhydra lutris)

 snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

 gorilla (Gorilla beringei andGorilla gorilla)

 Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

 orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)

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