From furry wombats to real-life unicorns, these are 10 species of animals that are about to become extinct and you may never have heard of them
10. God Clam
The god clam, or Arctica Islandica, is a large bivalve animal that can grow up to 10 centimeters long, and there are plenty of clams in the waters surrounding Iceland, but they live on the ocean floor of the entire Atlantic Ocean, they are the longest known creatures on Earth, and a specimen captured in 2006 is thought to be about 507 years old, meaning it should have been born in 1499. Despite their longevity, their numbers have plummeted due to the large number of fish sent to the United States to make bountiful soup, the increased pollution of the oceans by plastic and chemical waste, and the destruction of their habitat by deep-sea dredging fishing, and the clams have been included in the list of dangerous species in the Northeast Atlantic due to the sharp decline in numbers
9. Porpoises
The vaquita is a small dolphin that was first discovered in 1958, but today it is the world's rarest marine mammal, endangered, native to the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico, where a large number of dolphins once congregated, but due to human activity in the area, the number of dolphins in the area has dropped significantly, a 1997 study estimated that there were only 600 dolphins in the area, but in a similar survey in 2014, this number dropped to 100. And the most recent survey was in 2016, the total number decreased by 30 heads, that is to say, it has fallen by more than 92% since 1997, sadly, this glorious creator has not had much time, unlike other animals facing extinction due to hunting, the disappearance of the small-headed porpoise is mainly reduced to a by-product of the fishing of an endangered fish, and the 300-pound fish is highly sought after for its swim bladder, which is popular in traditional Chinese medicine and therefore expensive, although the Mexican government tries to limit fishing for this, Even after a two-year ban on gillnets in 2015 and the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries, dolphin populations have not recovered because many trawlers still use gillnets illegally
8. Vietnamese Javan Rhinoceros
The rhino is one of the most famous endangered animals in the world, but compared to Africa's most famous white rhino and black rhino, the Javan rhino is the most dangerous of five different species, they used to be popular in Southeast Asia, but with the last Javanese rhino in Vietnam being poached in 2010, the only remaining rhinos known to live in the national park of the Indonesian island of Java, their appearance is very similar to that of their close relatives the "Big One-Horned Rhinoceros", dark gray, one of the horns is about 25 cm long, Their loose skin folds make them look like they have armor plates, their lifespan is about thirty to forty years, there are only about 60 rhinos left in the wild, none of them are locked up, their future survival depends on the protection of the park rangers, they will be protected from poachers, who hunt their precious horns, which are precious commodities throughout the region, because they are considered to have medicinal value
7. Iberian lynx
Native to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, the Iberian lynx is the most endangered of all cats, which once roamed the Mediterranean forests of Spain and Portugal, but due to poaching, habitat destruction, and the decline in the number of rabbits as their main food source, the number of these majestic animals declined dramatically, and if you are lucky enough to see them, they are easily recognizable in this area because they are heavily spotted, have long legs, short tails, and black tips, There was also a layer of yellow-brown fur, and in 2002, it was estimated that there were only 100 Iberian lynx left in the wild, and natural resource protectors decided to take drastic action to save them
6. Australian hairy-nosed wombats
Wombats are the largest known herbivorous mammals, they drill holes in the ground, but this one faces survival challenges posed by human activity, the most dangerous of which is the Australian hairy-nosed wombat, which is one of the rarest mammals in the world, it is much larger than you think, its body shape is very strong, short tail and powerful plump claws make them very suitable for digging, this hairy-nosed wombat takes its name from the clumsy whiskers protruding from the sides of the nostrils, this unusual creature was once found in a large part of Australia today Their populations are declining severely, limited to a small part of Queensland's Epping Forest National Park, and there are many reasons why woolly-nosed wombats struggle to survive, including their populations are already small, the risk of floods, droughts and wildfires is becoming more frequent, deforestation is leading to habitat loss, and competition with eastern grey kangaroos for food
5. Antelope
The antelope is the largest of all the antelopes, once found in large numbers in the arid and semi-arid areas of the Sahara, mainly distributed in Sudan, their shoulders are about a meter high, they have a reddish-brown body, white heads, and both males and females have curved horns, and in the past century, due to a large number of wars in the region, the expansion of the desert, over-hunting, their population has deteriorated, habitat destruction and the increasing spread of human activities, which means that the once common antelope in the region is now rare, Few people know the life cycle of these animals in the wild, which makes limited conservation efforts tricky
4. Yangtze crocodile
The Chinese Yangtze crocodile is the only one of the two known crocodiles in the world, compared to the American Yangtze crocodile, they are smaller, the head is stronger, their blunt teeth are ideal for crushing the shell animals such as clams and snails they eat, they can grow up to two meters long, but they never attack humans, although they once flourished along the entire Yangtze River, but now, unlike american crocodiles, this species is facing a serious threat of extinction, mainly due to the occupation of their habitat by humans, Once swamps and swamps are now rice paddies, large numbers of crocodiles have been killed by farmers protecting livestock, and nearby water sources have been oozed by agricultural chemicals, leaving only about 130 left in the wild
3. Stain the curly monkeys
Native to South America, especially in the Amazon basin, the curly monkey has adapted to tropical rainforests, swampy areas and even urban environments, their fur is thick, the upper body and forelimbs are white, the lower body and hind limbs are brown, in addition, their black heads are completely furless, they are also different from other New World monkeys, they are very small, they were once found throughout South America, but now limited to small areas of degraded forests and residential areas near the city of Manaus, designated as critically endangered animals, Deforestation, the growth of urban areas and the increase in pastures pose an existential threat to them
2. Central South Antelope
In Vietnamese, the Central South Antelope means "spindle horn", due to its unique appearance and rarity in the region, it is often affectionately referred to as the "Asian unicorn", in 1992, this unicorn was first discovered in Vietnam, when a skull with unusually right horns was seen in the home of a hunter, which was the first time a new mammal was found in more than 50 years, the Central South Antelope is one of the most endangered large animal species on earth, found only in laos and Vietnam's Anmit Mountains, Notable features such as their long horns and white markings on their heads make them prizes for hunters, which, along with habitat-deprived animal ideas, are constantly poached, coupled with their already small numbers, which means that if things continue like this, the animals will disappear in a few years
1. Pangolins
These animals are the only mammals in the world covered in scales, and their tongues can be longer than their bodies! There are eight different species in Asia and Africa, and unfortunately, each of them is at risk of extinction, their lifespan is thought to be around 20 years, when they are in danger, they are able to curl up into balls, even lions and tigers have a hard time penetrating hard scales, they can even release a poisonous smelling acid, similar to skunks, trying to stop predators from invading, humans capture pangolins and sell them for their precious meat and scales, some estimates suggest, As many as 100,000 pangolins are hunted each year, causing their populations to decline rapidly, and efforts are being made to protect all species of pangolins, but as long as there are poachers, they are dangerous!
Harm, or that sentence, no sale, no killing, thanks for watching, if you are interested in these, just give a thumbs up to pay attention to it, we will see you in the next issue