Throughout the year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature curates a Red List of endangered animals for government, non-profits, and individuals to access. This evolving list updates several times a year to account for species discoveries, population changes, and more.
Using the most up-to-date information, AZ Animals combed through the data to compile a list of the cutest members of Animalia that will enter 2024 as critically endangered or endangered species.
Chinese Giant Salamander
Scientific name:
Andrias davidianus
©photo_m/iStock via Getty Images
Despite being one of the largest amphibians in the world, the Chinese giant salamander has had a steady place in the IUCN’s Red List — since populations have continually decreased starting in the 1980s. It’s endemic rocky streams and lakes in the Yangtze River basin, where a loss of habitat, water pollution, and human interference threaten its populations.
Horned Marsupial Frog
Scientific name:
Gastrotheca cornuta©slowmotiongli/iStock via Getty Images
Did you know this frog has some of the largest eyes for amphibians of its size? The two flaps above their eyes help with the optical illusion. The horned marsupial frog, which lives in a variety of South American countries, has fallen victim to the chytridiomycosis disease — a pandemic caused by the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus that affects all amphibians.
Sumatran Orangutan
Scientific name:
Pongo abelii©Michael Steden/iStock via Getty Images
Along with the Bornean and Tapanuli orangutans, the Sumatran orangutan has an imminent threat of extinction thanks to deforestation and loss of habitat. With this loss, the orangutans live outside their protected areas and face even greater danger from logging, land clearing, and other human activities.
Russian Desman
Scientific name:
Desmana moschata©Artem Kontratiev/Shutterstock.com
Despite becoming a protected species, the population of the Russian desman continues to decline. The semi-aquatic mammal — looking a bit like a shrew, a beaver, and a platypus put together — has joined the Red List thanks to loss of habitat, hunting to near extinction in the 1800s, and water pollution.
Palila
Scientific name:
Loxioides bailleui©Yi-Chen Chiang/Shutterstock.com
The small, golden-yellow-headed bird joins the IUCN Red List as critically endangered thanks to a loss of habitat by fires (of which a single one can decimate entire populations). It’s also prey to rats, cats, and pueo owls. With these threats, the unique bird species struggles to keep its numbers up.
Madagascar Pochard
Scientific name:
Aythya innotata©Ian Fox/iStock via Getty Images
With a tiny population bred in captivity and a shrinking number of wild habitats, the Madagascar pochard struggles to survive in the wild. In the 1980s, scientists actually believed the species was already extinct! However, a small colony found in 2006 confirmed at least a few of the species individuals persisted.
Masafuera Rayadito
Scientific name:
Aphrastura masafuerae©Pav-Pro Photography Ltd/Shutterstock.com
Since 2005, this small bird with an even smaller habitat and range has been a steady resident on the Red List. The species can only live on Alejandro Selkirk Island in the Juan Fernández Islands of Chile near water and under thick underbrush.
Sardinian Long-Eared Bat
Scientific name:
Plecotus sardus©salajean/iStock via Getty Images
Despite protection from legal entities in Italy including the Eurobats Agreement, the Sardinian long-eared bat faces critical endangerment by roost disturbance from the growing tourism industry and habitat loss from human encroachment.
Maui Parrotbill
Scientific name:
Pseudonestor xanthophrys©Devonyu/iStock via Getty Images
As of February 2023, only 300 or so Maui parrotbills were left in the wild. It might have the smallest range of any animal on the list: an infinitesimal area of 30 square kilometers that must be of wet and mesic montane forest above 1,200 meters in height.
Puaiohi
Scientific name:
Myadestes palmeri©Adam-Springer/iStock via Getty Images
As one of only two endemic species of thrush in Hawaii, the puaiohi has extremely low population numbers (~494 individuals) according to the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project. These birds have a small range and unique habitat needs, which creates challenges for habitat recovery and conservation efforts.
Príncipe Scops Owl
Scientific name:
Otus bikegila©serkanmutan/iStock via Getty Images
This small, adorable owl species is endemic to Príncipe Island off the west coast of Africa. Because of its range and habitat loss, researchers consider the species (with an already low population count) as critically endangered.
Giant Otter
Scientific name:
Pteronura brasiliensis©OSTILL/iStock via Getty Images
Thanks to the banning of the fur trade in South America, giant otter numbers have leveled off. Still, the giant otter faces a massive uphill battle as conservation experts consider the animal extinct in both Argentina and Uruguay.
Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin
Scientific name:
Sousa plumbea©JordiStock/iStock via Getty Images
Once thought of as the same as the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, the Indian Ocean Humpback dolphin became its own species in 2014 — and has since become endangered. Wherever the dolphin species occur, it ends up hunted and kept as a food, trophy, or delicacy.
Eisentraut’s Mouse Shrew
Scientific name:
Myosorex eisentrauti©Piotr Krześlak/iStock via Getty Images
The island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea is the only place you’ll find Eisentraut’s mouse shrew. This small animal had made the Red List for its restricted range and loss of habitat with consistently decreased population numbers.
Scimitar-Horned Oryx
Scientific name:
Oryx dammah©Willem Boonzaaier/iStock via Getty Images
Not only is this unique creature critically endangered, scientists recently revealed that it was completely extinct in the wild for several years. Experts have worked diligently to build reintroduction programs in Tunisia, Chad and Niger — resulting in just over 500 calves born in Chad at the end of 2023.
Green Turtle
Scientific name:
Chelonia mydas©Sakis Lazarides/ via Getty Images
The call to “Save the turtles” continues to ring true in 2024 as green turtles stick to their endangered classification. Green turtles suffer from humans and over animals overharvesting their eggs, human hunting, loss of nesting sites, and more.
Semirechensk Salamander
Scientific name:
Ranodon sibiricus©Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images
Research remains sparse on the Semirechensk salamander, other than their anatomy and chosen biome (Palearctic). The salamander is long, dark-colored, and has a sword-shaped tail.
Resplendent Bush Frog
Scientific name:
Raorchestes resplendens©dirk ercken/iStock via Getty Images
This strikingly orange frog endemic to the Middle East (and Anamudi, specifically) seems to keep to itself in a small cove of India. So small that every species individual discovered has only been found in the Eravikulam National Park.
Luschan’s Salamander
Scientific name:
Lyciasalamandra luschani©Eric Poulin/Shutterstock.com
Like some of the other animals on our list, this critically endangered salamander faces extinction because of its small habitat space. The entire population of the salamander inhabits less than 1,000 square kilometers across Turkey and Greece.
The photo featured at the top of this post is © molishka1988/iStock via Getty Images
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