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.
Bamboo Lemur
Image: 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.
Spoon Billed Sandpiper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eurynorhynchus_pygmeus_2_-_Pak_Thale.jpgLiving in Northeastern Russia and often found wading through shallow water there are fewer than 1000 of these tiny birds left.
Jamaica Rock Iguana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iguana_at_the_Iguanas_island_near_Cayo_Largo_shot_01.jpgAlthough it was declared extinct for many years, it was found again in the remote Hellshire Hills of Jamaica in 1970.
Geometric Tortoise
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_star_tortoise_-_Houston_Zoo_-_cropped.jpgLiving in Cape Province, South Africa this species is now threatened by habitat destruction and predation.
Stubfoot Toad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atelopus_certus_calling_male_edit.jpgNot seen since 1995, it lives in lowlands of Ecuador and was found once again in the mid 90s.
Araripe Manakin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Araripe_Manakin_(1).jpgAs of now there are only 779 Araripe Manakins in Brazil. Due to an increase in logging and other activities they have suffered habitat loss.
Roloway Monkey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FranceNormandieChamprepusCercopithecusDiana.jpgIn 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.
Cuban Greater Funnel-Eared Bat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Natalus_stramineus1.jpgFound in Cueva la Barca, Cuba there are only 100 of these bats left in the wild.
Durrell’s Vontsira
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alaotra_carnivore_credit_Fidimalala_Bruno_Ralainasolo.jpgThis crazy looking marsh dweller is found in only one place on Earth – near Lake Alaotra in Madagascar.
Gooty Tarantula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gooty_Tarantula,_Metallic_Tarantula_or_Peacock_Tarantula_(Poecilotheria_metallica).jpgLiving in Southeast India and Sri Lanka, everything from firewood collection to civil unrest have been blamed for its endangerment.
Angonoka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Astrochelys_yniphora.jpgAlso 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.
Jumping Shrew
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rhynchocyon_petersi_from_side.jpgFor 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.
Angel Shark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Squatina_squatina_tenerife2.jpgLooking 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.
Northern Hairy Nose Wombat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wombat_1.jpgThere are only 115 of these animals left in the wild and they all live in Epping Forest National Park in Australia.
Hirola
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hunter%27s_Hartebeest_CAS_1.JPGWith just over 500 left in the wild they can only be found in one small area on the border of Kenya and Somalia.
Common Sawfish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009_Pristis_microdon1.JPGLiving mostly in northern Australia, the sawfish’s aptly named snout helps it forage for food on the ocean floor.
Tonkin Snub Nosed Monkeys
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Golden_Snub-nosed_Monkeys,_Qinling_Mountains_-_China.jpgEndemic to north vietnam, there are less than 200 left in the wild.
Sumatran Rhino
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sumatran_Rhinoceros_Way_Kambas_2008.jpgHunted for its horn, which is used in traditional medicines, there are barely 200 of these rhinos left in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Tiger Quoll
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SpottedQuoll_2005_SeanMcClean.jpgA carnivorous marsupial native to Australia hadn’t been seen by humans for nearly 10 years until someone captured an image in 2012.
Spotted Dear
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2010-kabini-chital-portrait.jpgOne 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.
Warty Pig
http://thiselectricheart.deviantart.com/art/Baby-warty-pig-stock-99649442Another hard to film animal found in the Philippines, there are only a couple hundred left in the wild.
Florida Panther
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.
White Lion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:White_Lion.jpgNot seen in the wild since 1994, these lions are not albinos and are native to the Timbavati region of Africa.
Snow Leopard
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Snow_leopard_face.jpgA 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.
Giant Squid
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.
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