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A bilingual guide to critically endangered species

They are among the last of their kind. There is still time to act.

Vaquita, kākāpō, Javan rhino… Meet ten animals on the brink of extinction, learn what threatens them and what is working to save them, and find the organizations making a difference on the ground.

Meet the 10 species

Close-up of a young kākāpō's face: moss-green and brown feathers, a pale owl-like facial disc, a large pale beak and dark eyes.
A young kākāpō on Anchor Island (Pukenui), Fiordland, in 2016. Photo: Kimberley Collins, CC BY 2.0 (source)

49,505

species are threatened with extinction, out of 175,909 assessed by the IUCN

Source: IUCN Red List update, 9 July 2026, accessed .

Ten species on the brink

All ten are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. For each one, we give the most recent published population figure, with its source and date.

  • Critically Endangered Mammal

    Vaquita

    Phocoena sinus

    Population: 7–10 (2025)

  • Critically Endangered Mammal

    Sumatran rhino

    Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

    Population: 34–47 (2025)

  • Critically Endangered Mammal

    Hainan gibbon

    Nomascus hainanus

    Population: 42 (2025)

  • Critically Endangered Amphibian

    Axolotl

    Ambystoma mexicanum

    Population: 50–1,000 (2019)

  • Critically Endangered Mammal

    Javan rhino

    Rhinoceros sondaicus

    Population: ≈ 50 (2025)

  • Critically Endangered Bird

    Kākāpō

    Strigops habroptilus

    Population: 325 (2026)

See all species

The crisis in 3 points

  1. Disappearing habitats

    Forests cleared, wetlands built over, grasslands burned: without a habitat, a species has nowhere left to live.

  2. Animals killed for trade or by accident

    Poached for a horn, trafficked as pets, drowned in fishing nets: people remain the leading cause of death.

  3. The small-population trap

    When only a few dozen individuals remain, a storm, a disease or inbreeding can be enough to tip the balance.

Understand the threats

Conservation works

When efforts are sustained over time, species can come back from the brink.

See what works

Three ways to help

  • Support a field organization

    We don't collect donations. We point you to trusted organizations protecting each species.

  • Change an everyday habit

    What we buy, bring home from our travels or release into the wild matters too.

  • Spread the word

    Getting a species known is already a way of helping. Send a species page to someone who has never heard of it.

Why you can trust us

  • Dated figures

    Every figure comes with its source and the date we checked it.

  • Open sources

    IUCN Red List, scientific studies, field organizations: all our sources are cited and linked.

  • No donations collected

    We take no donations, no advertising and no commissions. We link straight to the organizations.

  • Openly licensed photos

    Every photo is credited with its author and licence. No image is generated by artificial intelligence.