The planet’s home to hundreds of thousands of millions of amazing animals. But for some of them, the future look really, really bleak.

According to a report by Popular Mechanics, human activity, climate change and inbreeding are just some of the main factors behind why these beloved animal populations are drastically dwindling.

But it’s mainly human activity to blame, of course. If we don’t double down on our conservation efforts, these animals are going to be wiped out for good.

Scary and unacceptable.

Here are 10 animals flirting dangerously close to extinction:

Pinta Island Tortoise:

This long-necked chap is the Pinta Island tortoise in Ecuador. Per the report:

Galapagos tortoises were frequently kept on ships for food … but sometimes dumped off when no longer needed.

With 2000 hybrid tortoises living on the island, that means a Pinta Island tortoise is likely hiding somewhere on the island. So far, a total of 17 hybrids have been found, and future expeditions could yield more, and maybe even find the parent of those hybrid reptiles.

Brazilian Spix’s Macaw:

This guy is the inspiration behind Blu in the movie Rio. Pretty, huh?

But due to deforestation in the Brazilian forests, only around 100 of these Spix’s macaws exist, albeit in zoos and preserves. Attempts to breed more are stalling badly due to many of the captive birds being closely related.

Black Rhino:

This poor guy is practically disappearing before our very eyes:

The entire wider species has fallen in population by 96 percent in just the last 60 years. Poaching represents one of the biggest threats to the survival of the rhino, as its horn is used in traditional folk medicine in China. Only 5 500 rhinos remain on the African continent.

White Rhino:

Meanwhile, the white rhino is doing a little better than the black rhino, but not by much:

Two females of the subspecies survive in captivity, while the last remaining male died just this year. Scientists may take a Jurassic Park approach to bringing the subspecies back. While the male rhinos may be dead, their genetic material is still preserved in labs.

Salt Creek Tiger Beetle:

It’s not much to look at (well, honestly, it’s pretty ugly), but that doesn’t mean this little critter isn’t suffering.

The area around the marshes and its tributaries where the tiger beetle lives (Nebraska in the US) have urbanised. There are only 400 beetles left, and plans are afoot for water diversion projects and turning parts of their habitat into protected lands in order to increase the number.

I suppose they do have a place in this world after all.

Cross River Gorilla:

The Cross River gorilla, found in Nigeria, is barely surviving due to poaching, the pet trade, Ebola, deforestation, and human warfare:

There are two species of gorilla – the Eastern and Western populations … the western lowland has around 95 000 individuals while less than 300 Cross River gorillas remain. The eastern gorilla is even more in peril, with 3 800 eastern lowland gorillas and 880 mountain gorillas surviving.

Sumatran Tiger:

This big cat is in big trouble.

There are less than 700 of these tigers left in the Indonesian wild. Deforestation, agricultural development for palm oil and acacia, and poaching are the primary reasons behind their disappearing numbers.

With no signs of a solution to these issues, these tigers could cease to exist within a decade.

Eish.

Sumatran Elephant:

Meanwhile, its mate – the Sumatran elephant – is also having a rough time.

There are less than 2 800 of them spread out across Indonesia, and they face the dangers of poaching and getting caught in traps meant to keep foraging animals out of palm oil plantations.

Vaquita:

Have you ever seen something cute like this bubba? You might never see it again.

The vaquita is a small, rare porpoise from the Gulf of California. There are only 12 of them left, a number that’s in danger of getting smaller due to the issue of getting caught in fishing nets.

Tapanuli Orangutan:

Like its tiger and elephant buddies, this orangutan from Indonesia is not faring well at all. They’re critically endangered, more so than their Sumatran and Bornean cousins, and it’s estimated that there are only 800 of them left, thanks to poaching and deforestation.

Spare a thought, and maybe a helping hand, for these animals.

[sources:popularmechanics]