10 Critically Endangered Wildlife Animals

September 4th is National Wildlife Day. Did you know that as of this year, 41,415 species of wildlife are endangered and 16,306 at risk of extinction? Here’s what you need to know about 10 of the 18 animals that are considered critically endangered species protected by the World Wildlife Fund.

By: Janet Lee

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Photo By: Zhang Guanghui/Visual China Group via Getty Images

Photo By: World Wildlife Fund

Photo By: Hendrik Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By: Steve De Neef/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Photo By: DE Agostini Picture Library

Photo By: World Wildlife Fund

Photo By: Khalis Surry/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Photo By: Afriadi Hikmal / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Photo By: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

Photo By: World Wildlife Fund

South China Tiger

The South China Tiger has not been found in the wild for 25 years. The last living tigers in zoos are now being released back into the wild in South Africa.

Photo Credit: Zhang Guanghui/Visual China Group via Getty Image

Saola

The Saola, discovered in 1992, can be identified by its two parallel horns. They are found only in the Annamite Mountains in Vietnam that are at risk of forest breakdown for plantations.

Photo Credit: World Wildlife Fund

Amur Leopard

The Amur leopard’s biggest threat is poaching. In 2012, the Russian government declared the area Land of the Leopard National Park that covers 60 percent of the rare cat’s habitat.

Photo Credit: Hendrik Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Hawksbill Turtle

Named for their sharp beak, these turtles are victims of climate change. They are not only losing their home in coral reefs but also threatened by excessive egg collection, pollution, and coastal development.

Photo Credit: Steve De Neef/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Black Rhino

Black rhino populations were reduced in the 10th century due to hunters trafficking their horn. Between 1960 and 1995, numbers dropped by 98 percent to less than 2,500.

Photo Credit: DE Agostini Picture Library

Vaquita

With only 30 left of its kind, this little porpoise is the rarest marine mammal in our seas. Vaquita was discovered in 1958 and live in now protected areas within Mexico’s Gulf of California.

Photo Credit: World Wildlife Fund

Sumatran Elephant

In 2012, Sumatran elephants’ status was changed from endangered to critically endangered. Native to the Indonesia island of Sumatra, only 2,400 to 2,800 of the species remain due to habitat loss.

Khalis Surry/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Bornean Orangutan

The 1997 to 1998 forest fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia killed up to 8,000 Bornean orangutans. Their lives are also threatened by hunting and illegal logging in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Photo Credit: Afriadi Hikmal / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Yangtze Finless Porpoise

Known for its unique smirk, this porpoise has a similar level of intelligence as that of a gorilla. Pollution from ships traveling across the Yellow and East China Seas is putting its life at risk.

Photo Credit: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

Cross River Gorilla

There are only 200 to 300 of these gorillas remaining in the Congo Basin. Their home in the mountains of Cameroon and Nigeria are being cleared for timber.

Photo Credit: World Wildlife Fund