An endangered animal is one that is at risk of becoming extinct or the risk of no longer being in existence. Dinosaurs are the largest group of animals to have ever become extinct. Endangerment of animals is occurring at an alarming rate due to environmental changes, the destruction of habitat, the shortage of food supply, and being hunted. Many of these causes are preventable if more people were educated about the dangers of their habits. Here are some creatures that are criticaly endangered or are getting near that point

Elephants

Today, the most urgent threat to elephants is large-scale poaching to supply the illegal ivory trade. Other threats facing elephants in Africa and Asia include conflict with humans and habitat loss and degradation.

Humpback Whales

Collisions with ships, entanglement in fishing gear, and pollution injure and kill whales. Shipping activity and oil and gas development cause noise that can disrupt or even damage whales’ hearing. Such disturbance can exclude whales from critical feeding and breeding grounds, and disrupt their migratory paths.

Tigers

At least 3,890 tigers remain in the wild. Tigers are threatened by poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss. They are forced to compete for space with dense and often growing human populations.

Sea Lions

They are vulnerable to the effects of climate change on ocean currents, which impacts their fish prey abundance. They are also victims of bycatch in fisheries. Fishermen try to prevent them from coming aboard their boats by putting up barbwire as a barrier, but this causes severe injuries to the sea lions.

Polar Bears

Because of ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in 2008. As climate change forces polar bears to spend longer time onshore, they come in contact more often with Arctic coastal communities and others working in the Arctic.

Giraffes

Giraffes are hunted for their meat, coat and tails. The tail is prized for good luck bracelets, fly whisks and string for sewing beads. The coat is used for shield coverings. Habitat destruction and fragmentation are also threats to giraffe populations.

Orangutans

A century ago there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total, but the Bornean orangutan is now estimated at about 104,700 and the Sumatran about 7,500. Females give birth to one infant at a time about every 3-5 years, so these species can take a long time to recover from population declines. They are killed for food or in retaliation when they move into agricultural areas and destroy crops.

Pandas

Pandas play a crucial role in the bamboo forests where they roam by spreading seeds and facilitating growth of vegetation. Roads and railroads are increasingly fragmenting the forest, which isolates panda populations and prevents mating. Forest destruction also reduces pandas’ access to the bamboo they need to survive.

Rhinos

Today very few rhinos survive outside national parks and reserves due to persistent poaching and habitat loss over many decades. Poaching poses the biggest threat to rhinos. Their horns are ground up for use in traditional medicines or are sold as a high-value gift item.

Sea Turtles

Nearly all species of sea turtle are classified as Endangered. Slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin and shells, sea turtles suffer from poaching and over-exploitation. Climate change also has an impact on turtle nesting sites. It alters sand temperatures, which then affects the sex of hatchlings.