Did you know that around 99 percent of the world’s four billion evolved species are no more? They are forever gone, extinct! It’s sad, but that’s the reality. The question now is, what animals are going to be extinct in 2025? The IUCN Red List estimated that 900 species have been extinct since 1500. But if we don’t act fast, more will follow.
Every animal on the planet is important. So, we must care for them. Unfortunately, human activities and poachers are forcing these adorable creatures to extinction. For instance, the increased demand for ivory is encouraging poachers to kill more elephants. There’s a high demand for ivory in Asia and other parts of the world.
We’re racing against time to rescue most of our critically endangered species from extinction. But what are the steps we need to take?
Let’s discuss the animals we may no longer see in 2025 and what we need to do to save them.
1: African Forest Elephant:
It’s hard to imagine living in a world without elephants, but it’s possible, given the increasing demand for ivory. This demand is encouraging poaching in the African continent.
Elephant Without Border’s Great Elephant Census report indicates that 96 daily or 35,040 elephants per year are subject to poaching. At this rate, if nothing is done to stop poachers, the African forest elephant might be extinct in 2025.
The Ivory trade was banned in 1989 during the International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, leading to a decrease in the killing of elephants. Unfortunately, the ban didn’t keep poachers out for long. Now, organized groups are killing hundreds of these endangered species daily without minding the consequences.
2: Sumatran Elephant:
Three recognized elephant species exist. These include the African forest elephant, African bush (savannah) elephant, and Asian elephant.
The Asian elephant comprises three species: Sumatran, Indian, and Sri Lankan.
Like the African forest elephant, the Sumatran elephant has been tagged as an endangered species for a long time. But shockingly, in 2012, its status changed from endangered to critically endangered species.
What made the Sumatran elephant’s status change to critically endangered species? Firstly, this elephant species lost 50 percent of its population in one generation. Now, there are around 2,400 to 2,800 Sumatran elephants in existence.
The two main threats to the existence of the Sumatran elephant are habitat loss and deforestation. It’s a big issue that sometimes results in human-elephant conflicts where some elephants wander into human settlements.
A Handy Tip: You can differentiate the African forest elephant from the Sumatran elephant by their lip-like protrusion. The African elephant boasts two lip-like protrusions on the tip of its trunk, while the Sumatran elephant has a lip-like protrusion on the tip of its trunk.
3: Rhino:
Did you know 11 species of rhino were in existence before now? Unfortunately, 6 of those have been sent packing from the planet. They are now extinct.
Only 5 rhino species are now in existence. These include the Javan rhino, White rhino, Sumatran rhino, Black rhino, and Indian rhino.
Of the five rhino species in existence, three have been classified as critically endangered species. These include the Javan rhino, Sumatran rhino, and Black rhino.
There are only 44 to 66 Javan rhinos in the world. These rhinos are in Indonesia’s famous Ujung Kulon National Park. Unfortunately, there are no Javan rhinos in captivity.
The Javan rhino’s extinction warning should be treated with all seriousness. Otherwise, there won’t be any left in a few years time or as early as 2025. The excessive poaching, encouraged by increasing demand for rhino horns and use in Chinese medicine, is decreasing the population of these creatures.
Sad news! The last male Sumatran rhino died in Malaysia in 2019. There are fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos, with 20 in captivity.
The Sumatran rhino population is facing two massive threats. They include reduced population viability and poaching. Unfortunately, the last male Sumatran rhino has died. So, it’s only a matter of time before the few ones left become extinct.
The Black rhino happens to be another critically endangered species. Since 1960, the Black rhino population has decreased by as much as 97.6 percent.
Today, 3 out of every 4 Black rhino subspecies is no more. And it’s only a matter of time before they become entirely wiped off the earth’s surface. Until now, poaching for rhino horns has been a massive threat.
4: Koala:
Koalas, unique to Australia, are in desperate need of saving. If we fail to take drastic steps, we will see the koalas become extinct by 2025.
Queensland’s koala population has decreased by as much as 50 percent since 2001. Factors causing the massive decrease in koala population include:
- Drought
- Disease
- Car strikes
- Land clearing
- Dog attacks
- Bush fires
A Handy Tip: There’s a need for a koala national recovery plan to save the creatures from extinction. Otherwise, sooner, we won’t have any koala
5: Sloth:
Sloth, a soft, slow, and cute animal, as it is portrayed in documentaries and children’s movies, is among the list of endangered species. Six sloth subspecies are native to South America and Central America, with all six threatened by habitat loss, deforestation, and illegal trafficking.
While the pygmy three-toed sloth is critically endangered, the maned three-toed ones are vulnerable.
The organization responsible for sloth protection in Columbia and Central America reports that around 80 to 90 percent of trafficked sloths die in transit. The reason this happens is shocking, but it’s a fact.
The thing is, sloths are very sensitive. So they get stressed very easily. The stress can damage their respiratory and digestive system, leading to death.
Baby sloths are the most coveted by traffickers. These innocent creatures are often violently separated from their mothers and kept in unfavorable conditions.
The baby sloths are kept in overcrowded environments and become malnourished due to failure to meet their nutritional demands.
The most brutal experience most baby sloths have is having their nails cut off. Traffickers do this to prevent the animal from harming them, but they fail to understand the impact such a move has on the animal.
Sloths consume fruits and plants. You’ll often find them handing on and feeding off trees. They only come down to defecate once a week, and that’s because they have a slow metabolism.
So, when traffickers cut off the nails of sloths, they take away their ability to source food and perform their usual activity of handing on trees.
The biggest threat to sloths’ existence is trafficking. The higher the amount people pay for these animals, the more motivated traffickers will be to hunt them down.
Another major threat is tourism. In most places, people pay to hug sloths and even feed them. Unfortunately, hugging or feeding a sloth isn’t a wise thing to do. Those doing this must be reminded that they disturb the species’ routine and space.
Where do sloths live? These adorable creatures live in South America and Central America. These include countries like Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Peru, Brazil, Honduras, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Bolivia.
A Handy Tip: Efforts are being made to protect sloths from extinction. But we need to do more to ensure the sloth population increases.
People buying sloths from traffickers must stop doing so. They need to understand that they’re encouraging traffickers to keep hunting these innocent creatures illegally.
If there were no market for sloths, there would be minimal or no illegal hunting.
6: Amur Leopard:
This forest-dwelling cat has adapted to life in the temperate forests. The Amur leopard is native to the Amur-Heilong region.
The Amur leopard has diverse names. In most areas, it’s called the Korean leopard, Far East, or Manchurian leopard. It’s a solitary animal, strong and adorable.
Amur leopards can live for 10-15 years in the wild, but in captivity, they can live for around 20 years.
So, how many Amur leopards are currently in existence? In the wild, there are reports of less than 100 Amur leopards. In captivity, there are over 180.
A Handy Tip: The biggest threat to the existence of Amur leopards is trafficking. People hunt these creatures to harvest their beautiful, spotted fur.
7: Panda:
Pandas were once named “endangered” species, as there were only 1140 pandas in the wild and around 600 in captivity. Scientists even predicted that the animal could become extinct if steps aren’t taken to boost their numbers.
The biggest threats to pandas’ existence include poaching and habitat destruction.
Climate change is another major threat. The hot climate is causing the rapid death of bamboo, the pandas’ food.
Climate change is responsible for the death of 99 percent of pandas’ diet. In the past, pandas have been observed to starve to death when they are unable to find bamboo.
Pandas also don’t have enough energy to adapt to the changing environment. The poor nutritional value of the recent bamboo trees in the wild explains why pandas are often lethargic, and it’s getting worse.
Pandas consume about 25 to 50 pounds of bamboo daily. They need energy to reproduce and relocate. That’s why they spend almost the entire day eating.
A Handy Tip: Reversing climate change can help prevent pandas and other animals from going extinct. The hotter climate is damaging pandas’ food, which includes bamboo.
Efforts need to be made to plant more bamboo trees in areas that will soon become suitable for pandas to live.
Update: The Chinese government has taken bold steps to prevent pandas from going extinct by 2025. Now, the giant panda’s population has increased to over 2000.
So, pandas are no longer on the list of critically endangered species. They are now on the “vulnerable” list.
8: Sumatran Orangutan:
The Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered. Their population has decreased massively over the years.
There are less than 9,200 Sumatran orangutans in the wild. Scientists have predicted that the population of these creatures will likely decrease further by 2025 if steps aren’t taken to save them.
The Bornean orangutans have also been named “critically endangered.” Large-scale deforestation, bushmeat, wildfire, and poaching are reducing the population of these adorable creatures.
Scientists have predicted that the population of the Bornean orangutan could decrease by 86% by 2025 if we don’t act first. They credited the cause of this massive reduction in the Bornean orangutan population to habitat loss.
9: Porpoises:
Seven porpoise species exist. They include the Indo-Pacific finless porpoises, Narrow-ridged finless porpoises, Harbor porpoises, Spectacled porpoises, Dall’s, Vaquita, and Burmeister porpoises.
The Narrow-ridged finless porpoises have two main sub-species. They are the Yangtze and East Asian finless porpoises.
Finless porpoises require a massive food supply to survive in their natural habitat. Unfortunately, human activities are making it difficult for the creatures.
The Yangtze porpoises, for example, have been named “critically endangered.” They are at extreme risk of extinction if nothing is done to protect them.
These creatures are facing several threats. The threats include pollution, overfishing, and ship movement.
Vaquita is named “the world’s rarest mammal.” That’s because only 10 Vaquita porpoises remained as far back as 2018. That’s what the CIRVA’s 2019 report says.
This creature is classified as critically endangered. Since 2011, their population has reduced by as much as 98 percent.
What Is Responsible For The Extinction of So Many Animals?
Several factors are responsible for the possible extinction of some animals. They have been the primary reasons we have lost many species.
Governments and not-for-profit organizations have done their best to prevent the extinction of plenty of animals. However, there’s only so much they can do.
Below are factors responsible for the extinction of numerous species over the years.
1: Loss of habitat:
Zoos and parks are great for housing animals. But the truth is, these places cannot substitute for the natural habitat of the animals.
The loss of the natural habitat of numerous species is a massive issue responsible for the decline and even complete elimination of many species.
The increase in the human population is responsible for the loss of habitat. As the world population increases, there’ll be demand for more space. There will be construction of more roads for people to commute easily, forgetting that we’re encroaching into the natural habitat of animals and making them uncomfortable.
We’re in 2024, and the world population is already 8 billion people. The world population increases by around 132 million people annually.
Tempering with the natural habitat of animals not only destroys their shelter and makes it difficult for them to find food and get the adequate nutrition they need to survive.
Habitat loss caused by human activities has driven many animals away from their natural habitat and led to several cases of human-animal confrontation. For instance, in Africa, lions attack cattle or elephants, trampling on people’s crops.
2: Poaching:
Poaching or illegal hunting is another issue causing the demise or extinction of many animal species. Unfortunately, the demand for certain parts of some animals is encouraging poaching.
For instance, the crocodile is hunted for its skin, while elephants are poached for ivory. An estimated 100 elephants are killed every single day in Africa by illegal hunters who don’t care if the animal eventually becomes extinct.
3: Pollution and Climate change:
Climate change and pollution are causing the death of thousands of animals. Changes in temperature, such as extreme cold or extreme heat, are stressing out most animals.
Climate change is also responsible for drought experienced in most parts of the world. Animals struggle to find water, and the ones that cannot survive without water die off.
We can save these animals by taking steps to reduce climate change. The good part is that everyone can try to reduce climate change. From how we travel, the electricity we use, and the food we consume, we can make a difference in reducing climate change.
We can take action to reduce climate change and make our planet healthy. The decisions could be as little as taking public transport, cycling or walking to the office, eating more vegetables, using energy-saving bulbs, embracing solar energy, abandoning paper use, and many more.
We can also take similar steps to combat pollution and make our planet cleaner for animals, plants, and humans.
Conclusion
What animals are going to be extinct in 2025? Several animals have been placed on the critically endangered species list. Therefore, the number of animals in question has fallen below the expected number.
Several animals will become extinct by 2025 if we don’t take drastic steps to save them. These animals face massive threats from human activities, poachers, climate change, and habitat loss.
We must educate people about these animals’ dangers and make poachers uninterested in their illegal activities. If there is no market for ivory, poachers will not have the mind to poach animals.
