Endangered Animals in Asia

According to an estimate, over 15,000 animal species are endangered worldwide. Rapid population growth and human expansion have caused a habitat loss to many endangered animals. Added to it are other human destructive activities such as pollution caused due to smoke and wastes from factories, overexploitation and poaching of endangered animals, and the global climatic changes, which have made animals endangered.

Asia is a favorable breeding ground and home to millions of species of animals. The endangered animals in Asia are also threatened for their survival due to the destruction of their natural habitats. Rapid advancements and human expansions have taken away much of the forest land, and have endangered animals. Here, we discuss about some endangered animals in Asia:

Asian Elephant: Commonly known as the Indian Elephant, they are found in the regions of South Central and Southeast Asia. Roaming about in the jungles of Bangladesh Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Kampuchea, only 35,000 of this endangered animal is left in the wild. They are widely poached for their ivory tusks, which have a premium price in the international market.

Agile Gibbon: They are found in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. They live in family groups, spending much of their time high in the canopy of tropical forests. Deforestation and logging have contributed in their rapidly declining numbers.

Asian Tiger: There are nine sub-species of Asian tigers. Some of them are Bengal tigers, the Indochinese tigers, Malayan tigers, Sumatran tigers, Corbett's tigers, Manchurian or Siberian tigers, and the South China tigers. It is estimated that only 40,000 of endangered Asian tigers are alive.

Poaching of tigers for their body parts is the major cause for their declining numbers. The bones of tigers are believed to possess healing properties, and are widely used in making Chinese traditional medicines. They are also poached for their hides, which fetches the premium price in the black market.

Bornean Orangutan: They are found only in the rainforests of Borneo. They spend much of their time in trees. The main reasons for the declining numbers of this endangered animal is poaching, and cutting down of forests for logging and mining.

The Chinese Alligator: This endangered animal is found in the areas around the lower Yangtze River basin in China. They prefer to live in slow-moving fresh-water rivers, ponds, and swamps.

Dugong: They generally live in shallow waters. They are large, gray, streamlined animals with concave tails, and nostrils at the top of their heads.

Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros: This endangered animal is widely hunted for its horn, which is believed to possess aphrodisiac properties. It is estimated that only 1,500 of them are alive. They are mainly found in captivity in Kaziranga and Orange national parks.

Snow Leopard: They are mainly found in the upper regions of Himalayas and the mountains of Central Asia. They can scale altitudes of 1,800 meters in winter to 5,500 meters in summer. Poaching and scarcity of prey have led this endangered animal to near extinction.