Endangered Mammals

Mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates having their skin covered with hair. Mammals are characterized by the presence of mammary glands that produce milk in the females for the nourishment of the offspring. However, rapid urbanization, cutting down of forest, poaching, and other such human activities have dwindled the habitats of most group of animals including the mammals. In India alone, there are 410 species of mammals out of which nearly 89 species are listed as threatened in the list prepared by the “International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources” (IUCN). Starting from large mammals like rhinos, tigers, and elephants to small mammals like bats, squirrels, civets, and shrews all of these species of mammals are threatened by direct or indirect human activities and are on the verge of extinction. As actual population counts or estimates are not available for many of these species, this article tries to give a rough idea about the common endangered mammals around the world. If you wish to know more about the different endangered mammals, then read through this article.

 

The right whale has been identified as one of the most endangered mammals. The population of this species has decreased significantly over the years. Today, only two hundred and fifty right whales are present, their population being dwindled by twenty percent within two generations.

 

The African and Asian elephants are also one of the most endangered species of mammals today. The Asian tuskers are mostly threatened due to illegal human activities like poaching and hunting for the ivory and the tusk of the elephant.

 

Blue whale, the largest mammal ever known, is another endangered mammal today. Its population has been decreased by almost fifty percent over the last three generations due to exploitation by hunters and water pollution including oil spill.