2013 Endangered Animals, Amur Leopard, Black Rhino

This is a truly horrifying list of natures near extinct wild animals. The horrifying part is that man is the reason for the animals being on this list. Instead of natural selection as a way to kill off a species man has taken it upon himself to single-handedly wipe the planet free of all animals not beneficial to his daily needs and greedy wants.These are only those animals that are listed as CRITICAL by the WWF, World Wildlife Fund. Not to be confused with the World Wrestling Federation. This post contains only facts and links to WWF for donations and / or the purchase of adopting their cute stuffed animals.

Photo credit: konjure / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Amur Leopard

Photographs thanks to WWF
STATUS
Critically Endangered
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POPULATION
Around 30 individuals

SCIENTIFIC NAME
Panthera pardus orientalis

WEIGHT
70 -105 pounds

HABITATS
Temperate, Broadleaf, and Mixed Forests

It is usual for leopards living in the savannas of Africa but beautiful and rare the Amur Leopard has adapted to the Russian Far East. Similar to other leopards, the Amur leopard can run at speeds of up to 37 miles per hour. This incredible animal has been reported to leap more than 19 feet horizontally and up to 10 feet vertically.

Black Rhino

Photograph thanks to WWF

STATUS
Critically Endangered
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POPULATION
4,848

SCIENTIFIC NAME
Diceros bicornis

HEIGHT
5.2 feet

WEIGHT
1,760 -3,080 pounds

HABITATS
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, Deserts and Xeric Shrubland


as per WWF

1961
"DOOMED." That was the front page headline of the UK newspaper, the Daily Mirror, in 1961, accompanied by a full-page photo of two African rhinos. The article said that rhinos were "doomed to disappear from the face of the earth due to man's folly, greed, neglect".
2013
Record Number of Rhinos Killed in South Africa
Poaching statistics released by the South African government reveal 668 rhinos were slaughtered-a 50% increase over 2011 and a staggering 5000% increase since 2007.

Poached Horn Anyone ?

Photo credit: VonShawn / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

The rhinos horns are being poached for many different reason. To increase longevity and increase sexual appetite to curing cancer. The horns are made of keritin, the same as our fingernails and have no medicial or magical properties.

To be continued ....