25 Rarest Animals On Earth

Posted by , Updated on January 18, 2024

Have you ever wondered about the rarest animals on Earth? It’s a sad reality, but we are losing animal species at an alarming rate. While not all of the animals on this list are necessarily considered “endangered”, they would still be very challenging to photograph in the wild. In fact, some of these animals were even thought to be extinct until an unsuspecting photographer managed to snap a photograph. With that said, these are the 25 rarest animals on Earth.

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25

Bamboo Lemur

Bamboo LemurImage: http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonystanley/3953014695/

With jaws designed to crack through bamboo, which makes up most of its diet, there are only about 100 of these lemurs left in the rain forests of Madagascar.

24

Spoon Billed Sandpiper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eurynorhynchus_pygmeus_2_-_Pak_Thale.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eurynorhynchus_pygmeus_2_-_Pak_Thale.jpg

Living in Northeastern Russia and often found wading through shallow water there are fewer than 1000 of these tiny birds left.

23

Jamaica Rock Iguana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iguana_at_the_Iguanas_island_near_Cayo_Largo_shot_01.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iguana_at_the_Iguanas_island_near_Cayo_Largo_shot_01.jpg

Although it was declared extinct for many years, it was found again in the remote Hellshire Hills of Jamaica in 1970.

22

Geometric Tortoise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_star_tortoise_-_Houston_Zoo_-_cropped.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_star_tortoise_-_Houston_Zoo_-_cropped.jpg

Living in Cape Province, South Africa this species is now threatened by habitat destruction and predation.

21

Stubfoot Toad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atelopus_certus_calling_male_edit.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atelopus_certus_calling_male_edit.jpg

Not seen since 1995, it lives in lowlands of Ecuador and was found once again in the mid 90s.

20

Araripe Manakin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Araripe_Manakin_(1).jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Araripe_Manakin_(1).jpg

As of now there are only 779 Araripe Manakins in Brazil. Due to an increase in logging and other activities they have suffered habitat loss.

19

Roloway Monkey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FranceNormandieChamprepusCercopithecusDiana.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FranceNormandieChamprepusCercopithecusDiana.jpg

In the past it could be found in the rainforests of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana but today it is extinct in Ghana and severely endangered in Côte d’Ivoire.

18

Cuban Greater Funnel-Eared Bat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Natalus_stramineus1.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Natalus_stramineus1.jpg

Found in Cueva la Barca, Cuba there are only 100 of these bats left in the wild.

17

Durrell’s Vontsira

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alaotra_carnivore_credit_Fidimalala_Bruno_Ralainasolo.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alaotra_carnivore_credit_Fidimalala_Bruno_Ralainasolo.jpg

This crazy looking marsh dweller is found in only one place on Earth – near Lake Alaotra in Madagascar.

16

Gooty Tarantula

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gooty_Tarantula,_Metallic_Tarantula_or_Peacock_Tarantula_(Poecilotheria_metallica).jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gooty_Tarantula,_Metallic_Tarantula_or_Peacock_Tarantula_(Poecilotheria_metallica).jpg

Living in Southeast India and Sri Lanka, everything from firewood collection to civil unrest have been blamed for its endangerment.

15

Angonoka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Astrochelys_yniphora.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Astrochelys_yniphora.jpg

Also known as the plougshare tortoise, this is often considered the rarest tortoise on Earth. Like many other animals on this list it is endemic to Madagascar.

14

Jumping Shrew

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rhynchocyon_petersi_from_side.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rhynchocyon_petersi_from_side.jpg

For seemingly apparent reasons it used to be known as the elephant shrew. Today, this creature resides in the Boni-Dodori Forest in Kenya and is critically endangered.

13

Angel Shark

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Squatina_squatina_tenerife2.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Squatina_squatina_tenerife2.jpg

Looking more like a ray than a shark, this creature used to inhabit the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea, but now is a rare sight in these waters due to fishing.

12

Northern Hairy Nose Wombat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wombat_1.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wombat_1.jpg

There are only 115 of these animals left in the wild and they all live in Epping Forest National Park in Australia.

11

Hirola

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hunter%27s_Hartebeest_CAS_1.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hunter%27s_Hartebeest_CAS_1.JPG

With just over 500 left in the wild they can only be found in one small area on the border of Kenya and Somalia.

10

Common Sawfish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009_Pristis_microdon1.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009_Pristis_microdon1.JPG

Living mostly in northern Australia, the sawfish’s aptly named snout helps it forage for food on the ocean floor.

9

Tonkin Snub Nosed Monkeys

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Golden_Snub-nosed_Monkeys,_Qinling_Mountains_-_China.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Golden_Snub-nosed_Monkeys,_Qinling_Mountains_-_China.jpg

Endemic to north vietnam, there are less than 200 left in the wild.

8

Sumatran Rhino

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sumatran_Rhinoceros_Way_Kambas_2008.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sumatran_Rhinoceros_Way_Kambas_2008.jpg

Hunted for its horn, which is used in traditional medicines, there are barely 200 of these rhinos left in Malaysia and Indonesia.

7

Tiger Quoll

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SpottedQuoll_2005_SeanMcClean.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SpottedQuoll_2005_SeanMcClean.jpg

A carnivorous marsupial native to Australia hadn’t been seen by humans for nearly 10 years until someone captured an image in 2012.

6

Spotted Dear

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2010-kabini-chital-portrait.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2010-kabini-chital-portrait.jpg

One of the world’s most endangered mammals it lives in the rain forests of the Philippines and was captured on film for the first time last year.

5

Warty Pig

http://thiselectricheart.deviantart.com/art/Baby-warty-pig-stock-99649442http://thiselectricheart.deviantart.com/art/Baby-warty-pig-stock-99649442

Another hard to film animal found in the Philippines, there are only a couple hundred left in the wild.

4

Florida Panther

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monica_r/2154774825/Image:http://www.flickr.com/photos/monica_r/2154774825/

With only 20 left in 1970 it has made a slight resurgence but it is still not a very common sight.

3

White Lion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:White_Lion.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:White_Lion.jpg

Not seen in the wild since 1994, these lions are not albinos and are native to the Timbavati region of Africa.

2

Snow Leopard

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Snow_leopard_face.jpghttp://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Snow_leopard_face.jpg

A very rare sight in the wild, when two snow leopard cubs were photographed in the mountains of Tajikistan last year it got a lot of attention.

1

Giant Squid

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracy_the_astonishing/9283833544/Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracy_the_astonishing/9283833544/

The first video of this legendary creature was recently captured by Japanese scientists nearly a kilometer below the surface of the ocean.