Endangered animals for kids: 10 species to research

The IUCN Red List sorts species by how close they are to extinction, from Least Concern through Vulnerable and Endangered to Critically Endangered. The animals below sit at the sharp end of that list. The vaquita, a small porpoise in Mexico's Gulf of California, is down to around ten individuals, drowned in nets set for other fish. The saola, an antelope-like animal from the Vietnam–Laos border, was only discovered in 1992 and has never been seen alive in the wild by a scientist. Fewer than 100 Amur leopards survive in the Russian Far East, and black rhinos, mountain gorillas and Sumatran orangutans are all Critically Endangered through poaching and forest loss. Axolotls are nearly gone from the one lake system they live in near Mexico City, though millions live in laboratories. Some stories turn around: mountain gorillas have grown from about 620 to over 1,000 since the 1980s. Each page explains the threat, who is working on it, and how to help.