Giraffes? Horses? Squirrels?? 20 Animals You Didn’t Know Are Going Extinct

Treehugger has put together a startling gallery of animals on the list of endangered species, and many are species you wouldn’t expect to be on such a list. They are species of familiar animals that are easily recognizable. Many are animals we see at the zoo, and sadly, the zoo and animal sanctuaries are the last refuge for many of these species.

• Water Buffalo - There are less than 2500 mature wild water buffalo remaining
• Socorro Parakeet - going extinct in the wild due to their popularity as household pets.  The wild population may be as few as 250 mature adults.
• Rothschild Giraffe - Those living in the wild are found in protected areas in Kenya and Uganda, while about 450 individuals are found in zoos around the world.
• Pygmy hippo - The last population estimate in 1990 put the species at 3000 individuals, and studies suggest this estimate is too high.
• Przewalski’s Horse - Currently, there are about 50 mature horses living in the wild with more individuals in captive breeding programs and zoos. That’s not very many and a major threat to the species is a loss of genetic diversity and thus disease.
• Grevy’s Zebra - Only 2500 individuals of this zebra species are left in the wild.
• San Joaquin Antelope Ground Squirrel - Thanks to agriculture and a whole lot of rodenticide, this Californian squirrel species has less than 20% of its former range and an estimated 124,000-413,000 individuals left.

View the entire gallery here.