Africa is a country that is richly gifted by Mother Nature. Thanks to the different habitats found on the continent, there are several hundreds of different animals you will see in Africa a number of the only endemic to this continent.
Today we look at the top 10 most endangered animals on the African continent, their estimated population, their threats and where to see or find them
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Riverine Rabbits
Since 2003, the Riverine Rabbit is among the rarest animals on the African continent. Today it is said that there are only 250 of these in the whole world and the number is still declining.
The biggest threats to these rabbits include degradation of loss of habitat as well as hunting either for sport or personal consumption, as well as trapping these rabbits out in their natural habitat.
Where to see the Riverine Rabbits: these can be seen within South Africa especially in Anysberg Nature Reserve along the Nama Rivers as well as Karoo areas.
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The Ethiopian Wolf
This is the most-endangered carnivore on the African continent. In 1996 the Ethiopian Wolf was declared and listed among the critically endangered species; however in 2004 they reclassified it as an endangered species. Today there are approximately 500 wolves surviving on the entire planet in the wild.
The biggest threats faced by the Ethiopian Wolf include: loss of habitat to create room for human settlement, industrial development as well as agriculture; diseases like rabies from livestock; climate warming, shootings as well as road killing.
Where to see the Ethiopian Wolves: these wolves can best be seen in the highlands of Ethiopia in the Bale Mountains, Simien Mountains National Park, Arsi Mountains, Mount Guna, Wollo highlands as well as Mount Menz.
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The Black Rhinos
As per the end of 2010, there were approximately 4880 Black Rhinos surviving as per the data provided by IUCN.
The biggest threat to this species is poaching primarily for international trade of its horn. Also its habitat is being destroyed
Where to see the Black Rhinos: Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
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Grevy’s Zebras
This is not only the most endangered of the zebra species but the largest of them all. In 2008, there were approximately 1966 of these remaining.
The threats that have been affected by Grevy’s Zebra include: declining sources of water, hunting, great competition for resources due to over-grazing, diseases and degradation of their habitat.
Where to see Grevy’s Zebras: in Kenya (Tsavo East National Park, as well as in the southern Samburu Park) and in southern Ethiopia
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Pickergill’s Reedfrog
In 2004, this species was classified as an ‘endangered-species’ however in 2010 after re-assessing the Pickergill’s Reedfrog was eventually classifieds as ‘Critically-Endangered’. It’s assumed that they only cover just 9 square kilometers of the entire earth surface and although their exact number remains unknown they are seen in just a couple of places. And these include the protected Umlalazi Nature Reserve as well as iSimangaliso Wetland Park found in South Africa.
The biggest threats faced by the Pickergill’s Reedfrog include: loss of habitat including degradation of the wetlands.
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African Wild Dogs
This is another carnivore listed among Africa’s endangered species, and it’s estimated that there are between 3000 and 5500 African wild dogs remaining in the world. Some people refer to these as the Cape Hunting Dog whereas others call it the Painted Hunting Dog.
The biggesr threat being faced by this species is loss of habitat, however there are other threats including diseases and human attacks.
These can be seen in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia as well as South Africa.
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The Mountain Gorillas
These are listed among the critically endangered species not only in Africa but the entire world. Mountain Gorilla is one of the rarest great apes in the world. It is estimated that there are about 800 of these left in the entire universe.
Their biggest threat is loss of habitat and contracting of human diseases.
These can be seen in Uganda, Rwanda and the D.R. Congo
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Rothschild’s Giraffes
These are the tallest of all the land animals living in the world. There are approximately 670 of these Rothschild’s Giraffes surviving in the wild as per the data released in2010.
Their biggest threat is: loss of habitat, poaching and population segregation. 60% of these can be seen in the National parks within Uganda while the rest can be seen in Kenya’s National Parks.
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Chimpanzees
Scientifically, it has been proved that these are man’s closest surviving relatives, and there share more than 98% of man’s DNA
Its estimated that there are about 150 000 chimpanzees remaining and these can only be seen in Africa in countries such as Benin, Uganda, Gambia, Togo as well as Burkina Faso although the best place to see them is in the Kibale forest, Murchison Falls National Park as well as Queen Elizabeth National Park found in Uganda.
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African Penguins
This is the only penguin species living in Africa and its estimated that there are approximately 52,000 of these although the number is declining tremendously fast.
Their biggest threat is shortage of food, contamination of their habitat especially by oil spills (this killed about 30,000 penguins between 1994 and 2000.
Where to see the African Penguins: western and eastern cape of South Africa and on the coast of Namibia
For more information about Africa wildlife, visit adventureugandasafari.com
