depths of the oceans.

Only about 10,000 to 25,000 blue whales still swim in the world’s oceans. Soviet whaling ships hunted
them aggressively for whale oil in the 1900s, causing them to nearly become extinct. From 1900 to the
mid-1960s, about 360,000 blue whales were slaughtered. In 1966 they were placed on the protected list
International Whaling Commission, which made commercial whaling illegal, but their numbers never
recovered. But every year many sustain injuries from collisions with ships. Environmental change such as
habitat loss and toxins in the ocean also threaten the massive marine mammals. Oil spills and garbage
that collect in the oceans pose a risk to these great sea beasts. Blue whales gained endangered status in
1986 by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List, are still on the list today.

Source:
1.http://guardianlv.com/2014/06/endangered-species-blue-whales-are-the-largest-mammals-that-ever-
lived/
2. http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/blue-whale

1. Giant Panda
This peaceful creature with a distinctive black and white coat is adored by the world and considered a
national treasure in China. The panda also has a special significance for WWF because it has been WWF's
logo since our founding in 1961. The rarest member of the bear family, pandas live mainly in bamboo
forests high in the mountains of western China. A newborn panda is about the size of a stick of butter—
about 1/900th the size of its mother—but can grow to up to 330 pounds as an adult. These bears are
excellent tree climbers despite their bulk. 
It has become one of the most endangered mammals in the world, with only 1,600 of them left.
Although they have been protected from hunting and on the Endangered Species list since 1984, pandas
are still disappearing. Due to the fact that pandas reproduce so infrequently, it is very difficult for their
population to recover from such a low point. Giant pandas are currently classified on  IUCN’s Red List as
an endangered species.
One the main reasons that pandas have become endangered is habitat destruction. As the population in
China continues to grow, pandas’ habitat gets taken over by development, pushing them into smaller
and less livable areas. Habitat destruction also leads to food shortages. Pandas feed on several varieties
of bamboo that bloom at different times of the year. If one type of bamboo is destroyed by
development, it can leave the pandas with nothing to eat during the time it normally blooms, increasing
the risk of starvation.

Source:
1. http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/giant-panda/
2. http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=7&detID=68

2. West African Black Rhinoceros

The black rhino, of which the western black rhinoceros is a subspecies, was most commonly located in
several countries towards the southeast region of the continent of Africa. It was a subspecies of
the black rhinoceros declared extinct by the IUCN in 2011. The western black rhinoceros measured 9.8–
12.3 ft long, had a height of 4.6–5.9 ft, and weighed 800–1,400 kg. It had two horns, the first measuring
1.6–4.6 ft and the second 0.79–21.65 inches. Like all Black Rhinos, their common diet included leafy
plants and shoots around their habitat. During the morning or evening, they would browse for food.
During the hottest parts of the day, they slept or wallowed. Like most black rhinos, they are believed to
have been nearsighted and would often rely on local birds, such as the red-billed oxpecker, to help them
detect incoming threats.
It was once widespread in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa, but its numbers declined due to poaching.
Many people believe their horns held medicinal value, which lead to heavy poaching. However, this
belief has no grounding in scientific fact.  Between 1960 and 1995 an astonishing 98 percent of black
rhinos were killed by poachers, either to feed the new and voracious demand for TCM or, to a lesser
extent, for horns to be used as ceremonial knife handles in the Middle East. All rhinos suffered; the
western black rhino, already weakened by decades of overhunting, was the hardest hit.

Source:
1. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2013/11/13/western-black-rhino-extinct/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_black_rhinoceros

3. Pyrenean Ibex:
The recently extinct Pyrenean ibex, also known by the Spanish common name bucardo, was one of the
four subspecies of wild goat to inhabit the Iberian Peninsula. The Pyrenean ibex had greyish brown fur
that grew thicker in winter. Males had striking black coloring on their legs, neck, and face. Males also
had large, thick, curving horns with ridges that deepened with age. Females' horns were much shorter
and thinner.
The ibex are thought to have numbered some 50,000 historically, but by the early 1900s its numbers
had fallen to fewer than 100. While the exact cause of the Pyrenean ibex's extinction is unknown,
scientists hypothesize that a number of different factors contributed to the decline of the species,
including poaching, disease, and the inability to compete with other domestic and wild ungulates for
food and habitat. The last Pyrenean ibex, a female nicknamed Celia, was found dead in northern Spain
on Jan. 6, 2000, killed by a falling tree. Scientists took skin cells from the animal's ear and preserved
them in liquid nitrogen, and in 2009 an ibex was cloned, making it the first species to become
"unextinct." However, the clone died just seven minutes later due to lung defects.

Source:
1. http://endangeredspecies.about.com/od/extinctionpastandpresent/a/Pyrenean-Ibex.htm
2.http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/10-animals-presumed-extinct-in-the-last-
decade/pyrenean-ibex

4. Sea Mink
The sea mink is an extinct North American member of the family Mustelidae. It is the only mustelid, and
one of only two terrestrial mammal species in the order Carnivora, to become extinct in historic times