Most Endangered Species in the World (2026 Update)

Extinction means a species no longer exists, while endangerment means a species is at risk of extinction.

Both can come about for many natural reasons, like a lack of prey, excessive predation, and the arrival of invasive species. However, human activity, such as overdevelopment, mining for natural resources, climate change, and more, can also result in an extinct or endangered species.

Below, we’ll look at some of the plants that have become extinct as well as some of the endangered animal species, with the latest data for 2026.

Endangered and Extinct Species in 2026: The Latest Data

What Causes Endangerment and Extinction?

There are a variety of reasons that plants and animals can become endangered or extinct, and sometimes, it’s due to natural causes. For example, plants can become endangered due to pests or disease.

But according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), extinctions are occurring at higher rates than what’s expected naturally or has been observed historically. The USGS states that habitat loss is the primary cause of this acceleration. Deforestation, the use of pesticides, agriculture, and urbanization all contribute to habitat loss. You can read more in our guide to why biodiversity is important.

Other reasons for increased extinction, the USGS notes, include exploitation of wildlife, pollution, and introducing nonnative species that can be harmful. Climate change is a growing pressure on top of these, as warming oceans, thawing permafrost, and shifting seasons change the places species live. The Living Planet Report lists six main pressures: habitat loss, overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species, and disease.

Are Animal and Plant Species Still Going Extinct Today?

Yes, as the USGS has claimed, extinctions are still happening today and are, in fact, increasing.

Often, when you think of extinction, you think of creatures like dodo birds or dinosaurs, which disappeared hundreds or even millions of years ago. But in 2021, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed declaring 23 federally protected species extinct, the most ever at once since the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA). In October 2023, the agency finalized the removal of 21 species from the ESA due to extinction.

The 21 included one mammal, 10 birds, two fish, and eight mussels, and eight of the 21 were found in Hawaii. They include the little Mariana fruit bat, Bachman’s warbler, and the San Marcos gambusia. Two species from the original list were not delisted: a Hawaiian mint plant, because new surveys found potentially suitable habitat, and the ivory billed woodpecker, which the agency said it would keep reviewing. Many of the delisted species were already in very low numbers or likely extinct when they were first listed, which the agency said shows the importance of acting before declines become irreversible.

How Many Plant Species Are Endangered and Extinct?

Scientists know of over 500 extinct plants today, roughly twice the number of extinct birds, mammals, and amphibians combined, though the number is likely significantly higher due to a lack of historical data.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracks endangered and threatened species of plants and lists about 940 of them as of 2024. However, this is only a portion of the plants at risk worldwide. Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023 report counted about 350,000 known vascular plant species and estimated that 45% of known flowering plants could be threatened with extinction. Epiphytes, such as orchids and bromeliads, were the most threatened plant life forms, and Kew estimates that 77% of plant species not yet formally described are likely already threatened.

What Are the Extinct Species of Plants?

There are a vast number of plant species that have been declared extinct. In some cases, the plant is no longer known to exist on earth. In other cases, a plant is considered extinct in the wild, which means it no longer exists in its natural habitat. But these plants may still be alive in human made ecosystems, such as botanical or personal gardens.

Here are some examples of plants that are extinct:

• Cooksonia: This ancient species was a vascular land plant. Its existence has been confirmed through fossils found in Europe, North America, and Africa.
• Sigillaria: This tree sized plant lived about 300 million to 360 million years ago, and its remains contributed to the coal we burn today. A fun fact about sigillaria: it had scales instead of bark.
• Acalypha dikuluwensis: This plant was native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was declared extinct in 2012 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It’s believed that this species went extinct due to surface mining.
• Angel’s trumpets: This flowering shrub is an example of a plant that’s extinct in the wild but still cultivated around the world as ornamentals and by indigenous people in South America as medicinal and religious plants.

Extinction calls are sometimes revisited. A Hawaiian mint, Phyllostegia glabra var. lanaiensis, was proposed for an extinction declaration in 2021, but the proposal was withdrawn in 2023 after new surveys identified potentially suitable habitat.

What Are the Extinct Species of Animals?

The IUCN Red List records at least 881 extinct species since roughly the year 1500, and the list keeps growing. Forty four species were declared extinct in 2025 alone, including the slender billed curlew and the Christmas Island shrew. Examples of extinct animals include:

• Amphibians like the splendid poison frog and the golden toad
• Caribbean monk seals
• Charco Azul pupfish
• Pinta giant tortoises
• Little flat top snails
• Spectacled cormorants
• Japanese sea lions
• Little Mariana fruit bats and eight Hawaiian forest birds, removed from US protection in 2023

What Are the Top Endangered Animals?

The IUCN Red List now lists thousands of animal species as critically endangered, including varieties of insects, gastropods, and spiders. Here are some of the best known critically endangered animals, many of which are also featured by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Elephants

Sumatran elephants from Indonesia and African forest elephants are listed with the critically endangered designation. Both species are being threatened by hunting and the clearing of land for agricultural use. In addition, African forest elephants are affected by droughts, mining, and drilling.

Big Cats

The big cats on the list are the Amur leopard, which is found in Russia and China, and the Sunda tiger of Indonesia. In both cases, the species’ main threat is poaching. The Amur leopard also faces prey scarcity, while the Sunda tiger has suffered from habitat loss due to deforestation. Tiger populations have increased in some places, such as India, according to the Living Planet Report 2026, but conservation gains are uneven.

Great Apes

A number of great ape species are currently listed as critically endangered: three orangutans and three gorillas. They are as follows:

• Bornean orangutan
• Sumatran orangutan
• Tapanuli orangutan
• Cross River gorilla
• Eastern lowland gorilla
• Western lowland gorilla

According to the WWF, orangutans are important to the ecosystem because they spread seeds that help their forests regrow. The populations of orangutans have suffered from habitat loss due to logging and developing palm oil plantations. Hunting and the pet trade are also major threats.

As for gorillas, population counts are hard to determine due to the dense, rugged terrain they inhabit and their wariness of humans. However, it’s estimated that:

• There are only about 200 to 300 Cross River gorillas. Because this subspecies is so small, it’s at risk of inbreeding and losing its genetic diversity.
• The eastern lowland gorilla has declined by over 50% since the 1990s due to habitat loss, illegal mining, and civil unrest.
• The western lowland gorilla has lost over 60% of its population in the last few decades due to poaching and disease.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

The hawksbill sea turtle is listed as critically endangered due to multiple threats. In addition to the destruction of their nesting and foraging habitats, other threats include:

• The tortoiseshell trade
• Egg collection
• Hunting for their meat
• Oil pollution
• Entanglement in debris, like fishing gear

The WWF states that hawksbill turtles are important to the environment because they help keep coral reefs healthy. The hawksbill and Kemp’s ridley are the two sea turtle species that remain critically endangered. Their cousin, the green turtle, shows what is possible: after decades of protections, including turtle excluder devices that reduce accidental capture in fishing gear, it moved from Endangered to Least Concern on the Red List in October 2025. Experts stress it still depends on continued conservation.

Rhinos

There are three species of rhinos on the critically endangered list: the black rhino, the Javan rhino, and the Sumatran rhino. The black rhino was once the most common rhinoceros found on Earth, but the species’ population greatly diminished due to poaching for rhino horns. The population is now recovering: the International Rhino Foundation’s 2025 count found about 6,788 black rhinos, up from 6,195 in the previous count.

The Javan and Sumatran rhinos are in far worse shape. The Javan rhino fell from an estimated 76 to about 50 individuals, a decline attributed to poaching, and survives in a single national park in Indonesia. The Sumatran rhino is estimated at between 34 and 47 individuals.

Saolas

The saola is a rare, elusive animal that lives in the Annamite Mountains of Laos and Vietnam. A close relative of wild cattle and buffalo, the saola was only discovered in 1992, and it’s often nicknamed the Asian unicorn.

Porpoises

Porpoises are a type of cetacean, like whales and dolphins. Two porpoises, the Yangtze finless porpoise and the vaquita, are on the critically endangered species list.

The Yangtze finless porpoise lives in freshwater. Its population has been threatened by overfishing (leading to a decrease in food supply), pollution, sand mining, and ships moving along the river. There is good news, though: a 2022 survey counted 1,249 porpoises, up 23% from 1,012 in 2017, the first recorded rebound, following protections that include a 10 year fishing ban on the river. The Baiji dolphin also used to call the Yangtze River home, but it was declared functionally extinct in 2006.

The vaquita is found in the waters of the Gulf of California. There were an estimated 567 vaquitas in 1997, and the number fell to as few as 6 to 8 in 2024. A 2025 survey found a 67% probability that 7 to 10 individuals were seen, and observers recorded calves, a slight and cautious sign of hope. The biggest threat to these porpoises remains getting caught in gillnets set by totoaba fishers.

What Other Animals Are Endangered?

While not critically endangered, here are some of the other animals that appear on the list of endangered species:

• Blue whale
• Southern bluefin tuna
• Bonobo
• Red panda
• Sea otter
• Hooded seal, moved from Vulnerable to Endangered in 2025 as Arctic sea ice declines

Can Endangered Animal Species Recover?

Yes, there have been a variety of wildlife conservation success stories that have brought animal species back from the brink. The Living Planet Report 2026 notes that about half of monitored populations are stable or increasing. Let’s look at a few examples.

In 1963, the bald eagle was near extinction, as there were only 417 nesting pairs of eagles left in the lower 48 states. After protections including a ban on the pesticide DDT, the bald eagle moved up from “endangered” to “threatened” in 1995, and in 2007, it was removed from the threatened and endangered list altogether. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2020 population update estimated about 316,700 bald eagles in the lower 48 states, including 71,467 occupied nests, a quadrupling since 2009.

Another species that narrowly missed extinction was the humpback whale. As of 1966, there were only 1,200 humpback whales in existence due to commercial whaling. But today, the IUCN estimates 84,000 mature whales.

The once endangered giant panda has been upgraded to “vulnerable.” This is thanks to research and conservation efforts in the U.S. and China. And as noted above, the green turtle, black rhino, and Yangtze finless porpoise have all shown encouraging recoveries in recent years. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nature Conservancy say that about 99% of species protected under the Endangered Species Act have avoided extinction, which is why the debate over its rules matters to many conservationists.

Help With Conservation Efforts by Protecting the Environment

Many of the endangered species on this list are impacted by human activity, such as habitat loss, poaching, pollution, and climate change. No single action will protect every species, but there are practical ways to help:

• Reduce your own emissions. Start by estimating them with the carbon footprint calculator. Climate change is one of several pressures on wildlife, alongside habitat loss and overexploitation. Learn more about greenhouse gases and global warming.
• Support habitat protection and restoration through local parks, land trusts, and conservation groups you trust.
• Buy responsibly. Look for credible certifications such as FSC for wood and paper and RSPO for palm oil, check what each certification covers, and avoid products made from endangered wildlife. See our post on the overconsumption of natural resources.
• Protect air and water quality. Pollution harms plants and animals, as we explain in our post on air pollution and climate change.

Carbon offsets do not directly protect individual endangered species. Offsets fund verified emission reductions or removals through projects elsewhere, and they work alongside cutting your own emissions. Some project types, such as reforestation and forest conservation, can also protect or restore habitat, but the benefits for wildlife vary from project to project and are not guaranteed. Terrapass’s Global Portfolio includes reforestation, REDD+ forest conservation, landfill gas capture, orphan oil well closure, industrial emission reduction, and residential solar installation, verified under standards such as the Verified Carbon Standard, American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve, and Gold Standard. See the projects we support, learn about tree planting offsets and natural carbon removal, or browse carbon offsets for individuals.

FAQ: Endangered and Extinct Species

What causes species to become endangered or extinct?

Some causes are natural, like disease or a lack of prey, but extinctions are now happening faster than natural rates. The USGS says habitat loss is the primary cause, and other drivers include overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, disease, and climate change.

Are species still going extinct today?

Yes. The IUCN declared 44 species extinct in 2025, including the slender billed curlew and the Christmas Island shrew, and 310 over the past five years. In 2023 the US Fish and Wildlife Service removed 21 species from the Endangered Species Act because they are extinct.

How many species are threatened with extinction?

The IUCN Red List assessed 172,620 species as of October 2025, and 48,646 of them, about 28%, are threatened with extinction. Many species have not been assessed, so the true number is likely higher.

How many plant species are endangered?

Kew’s 2023 report estimates that 45% of known flowering plants could be threatened with extinction, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service lists about 940 plant species as endangered or threatened in the United States.

Which animals are critically endangered?

Well known examples include the Sumatran elephant, African forest elephant, Amur leopard, Sunda tiger, the Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli orangutans, the Cross River, eastern lowland, and western lowland gorillas, the hawksbill sea turtle, the black, Javan, and Sumatran rhinos, the saola, and the vaquita.

How many vaquita are left?

A 2025 survey found a 67% probability that 7 to 10 vaquitas were seen, and observers recorded calves. The population was about 567 in 1997, and illegal gillnets remain the main threat.

Can endangered species recover?

Yes. The bald eagle recovered from 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to about 316,700 birds, the green turtle moved from Endangered to Least Concern in 2025, black rhino numbers are rising, and the Yangtze finless porpoise rebounded to 1,249 in 2022. Sustained conservation is what keeps these recoveries going.

How did US endangered species rules change in 2026?

In July 2026, federal agencies finalized a rule rescinding the regulatory definition of harm under the Endangered Species Act, which had included significant habitat modification. The administration says this returns the law to its text, while conservation groups say it weakens habitat protections, and the rule faces legal challenges.

Can carbon offsets help endangered species?

Not directly. Carbon offsets fund verified emission reductions or removals through projects elsewhere. Some project types, like forest conservation and reforestation, can also support habitat, but wildlife benefits vary by project.

Sources for the 2026 data:
IUCN Red List update, October 2025 (via Oceanographic Magazine)
Noticias Ambientales, IUCN extinctions in 2025
ZSL and WWF, Living Planet Index and GKToday, Living Planet Report 2026
US Fish and Wildlife Service, 21 species delisted due to extinction
Environmental Protection Online, ESA harm rule and The Nature Conservancy, ESA rules statement
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023
International Rhino Foundation, 2025 population estimates
Sea Shepherd, 2025 vaquita monitoring results
China Daily, Yangtze finless porpoise rebound
US Fish and Wildlife Service, bald eagle population update

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