It may surprise you to learn that several species of rabbits and hares are among the most endangered mammals on Earth. But, genetic diversity is low among the remaining kakapo, which could affect survival in the future, especially if they are struck by a disease.Whether we think of rabbits and hares as the cute, cuddly characters from our childhood storybooks or as pests of epic proportions, we can agree that one thing appears to be true: they aren’t in short supply … right? Intensive conservation measures mean the population is on the increase now, which is positive.

Females also leave the nest unattended when finding food, leaving the eggs freely available to predators. It is effective against predators that rely on sight to hunt but not smell. A kakapo’s natural reaction is to freeze and blend in with the background when threatened. One of the main threats to Kakapos is predation from introduced species such as cats and stoats that hunt using scent. They were once common throughout New Zealand and Polynesia but now inhabit just two small islands off the coast of southern New Zealand. They are critically endangered with only around 140 individuals remaining, each one with an individual name. Kakapos are nocturnal ground-dwelling parrots from New Zealand, and yet another example of an animal brought to the edge of extinction by humans. Finally, climate change and changing sea temperatures may affect food availability, which will have a knock-on effect on survival and reproductive rates. Whales use sound to find mates, locate food and avoid predators, as well as to navigate and talk to each other. Vessel traffic also creates noise that interferes with their ability to communicate. They are still very much at risk of extinction, with boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear some of the biggest threats. Females don’t breed for the first ten years of their life and then will give birth to a single calf every six to ten years. They are now protected, and hunting is illegal, but population recovery is slow. There are currently only around 400 of them left, and only about 100 breeding females. They were almost wiped out by hunters after their meat and oil-rich fat known as blubber, and are now one of the most endangered large whales. They are gentle giants that stay close to coasts and spend a lot of time at the surface skim feeding on zooplankton, all of which makes them an easy target and the ‘right whale to hunt’. It was whalers that gave the North Atlantic right whale its name.

Endangered animals list 2020