Species
African wild dog
Discover more about one of the world's most endangered carnivores and how Fauna & Flora is tackling the threats to its s...
As we ring in the new, it’s time to look ahead and pick out some of the myriad species that warrant conservation attention this year.
From featherlight lizards to heavyweight hornbills and supersized sharks, they all share the dubious distinction of staring extinction in the face. In 2025, Fauna & Flora and our partners will be working to change the story for these and many other threatened species and their habitats – here are our ten species to watch.
Mountain chicken frog © Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Nature Picture Library
Portrait of a frog in freefall - the critically endangered mountain chicken.
European mink. © Eduardo Blanco / Nature Picture Library
Europe's native mink on the brink. One of the continent's most threatened mammals is in urgent need of conservation intervention.
European mink
Brought to Europe for fur farming in the 1930s, the American mink is a destructive invasive predator that has thrived since escaping into the wild. In stark contrast, its native counterpart the European mink is one of the continent’s most critically endangered mammals. Habitat loss, hunting and, more recently, competition from the stronger, more aggressive American invader have brought it to the brink. Fauna & Flora and our partners in Romania will be conducting field surveys to gauge whether any European mink remain in the Carpathian Mountains, while also continuing to support freshwater restoration initiatives that should help reconnect the beleaguered native carnivore’s fragmented habitat.
Antillean manatee
Like their close relative the dugong, manatees are sometimes referred to as sea cows. They are distinguished from dugongs by their paddle-shaped tail. The Antillean manatee is a secretive estuarine mammal that feeds on floating and submerged plants. In Honduras’ Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, the manatee’s food sources and water quality are threatened by homes, crops, livestock and businesses encroaching on the riverbank, depleting mangrove forest and food supply, and contributing to murky, contaminated water. Fauna & Flora is supporting our in-country partner FUCSA to work with government, academics, other NGOs and local communities to establish a recovery plan for manatees and their threatened habitat.
Antillean manatee. © Luciano Candisani / Nature Picture Library
Siren warning - Alarm bells are ringing for the Antillean manatee.
Drone's-eye view of Antillean manatee group interaction in Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, Honduras, where these delightful aquatic mammals are being carefully monitored. © Jairo Garcia / FUCSA
Grey-shanked douc langur
Restricted to dwindling patches of forest in central Vietnam, the grey-shanked douc langur is one of the world’s rarest primates. In 2016, a Fauna & Flora-led survey team discovered a significant new population in Kon Plong comprising around 500 monkeys, but the grey-shanked douc remains critically endangered. The species is hunted for meat, traditional medicine and the pet trade, and its habitat is threatened by deforestation and fragmentation. Fauna & Flora recently confirmed that Ba To forest harbours more than 100 grey-shanked doucs – the world’s third-largest population. We’ve started working with the provincial government to secure formal protection for this vital primate haven.
Nguru spiny pygmy chameleon
The Nguru spiny pygmy chameleon is not much larger than a paper clip. Though perfectly adapted to its montane forest habitat in Tanzania, where it blends in with the leaf litter and lower vegetation, this tiny lizard is severely threatened by habitat loss due to agricultural expansion and logging, and by the illegal pet trade. Despite its inclusion on CITES Appendix II and a government ban on live animal exports, illegal collection persists, placing additional pressure on this critically endangered reptile. It is one of three pygmy chameleon species that Eva Ayaro (pictured) and her team in Tanzania are working to protect with support from a Conservation Leadership Programme award.
© Ryan Deboodt / Fauna & Flora
Sitting doucs - A privileged view of a group of critically endangered grey-shanked douc langurs in Kon Plong, Vietnam.
© Rikki Gumbs
Marvelling at a miniature gem - Eva Ayaro inspecting a Nguru spiny pygmy chameleon.
Protecting the Nguru spiny pygmy chameleon is essential not only for conserving a unique species but also for safeguarding the rich biodiversity of Tanzania’s montane forests. This species is a symbol of resilience, yet it remains highly vulnerable. Its survival depends on our efforts to curb illegal trade and protect its delicate habitat.
Eva Ayaro
Project lead
Steppe tortoise
The steppe tortoise was the first vertebrate animal to successfully orbit the Moon (alongside other life forms sent into space as part of a Soviet-led mission in 1968). Here on Earth, its home range extends across the deserts and steppes of Central Asia. Today, the species is one of the world’s most heavily traded reptiles, and populations are in steep decline. Fauna & Flora is working with local experts, governments and other partners across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to gain a better insight into the factors influencing illegal collection and trafficking of the species, and to support a reassessment of its CITES and IUCN Red List status.
Steppe tortoise. © Maxim Koshkin
Steppe in the right direction - We're taking action to address tortoise trafficking in Central Asia.
Great hornbill. © Chamnan Phanthong / Adobe Stock
Top of the bill - Asia's giant hornbill in flight.
Great hornbill
Asia’s hornbills depend on large areas of undisturbed forest for food and nest sites. As the region’s remaining lowland forests shrink and fragment, these birds are increasingly seeking refuge in remote mountainous regions. In Myanmar’s Arakan Mountains, the great hornbill (pictured) and rufous-necked hornbill are both benefiting from a groundbreaking collaboration between communities, coffee producers and conservationists that was established to protect the habitat of the endangered western hoolock gibbon from conversion to agriculture. Fauna & Flora is continuing to monitor and protect great hornbill nest sites and conduct population surveys to gauge the impact of our agroforestry initiative on these iconic but vulnerable birds.
African wild dog
Painted hunting dogs are among the world’s most endangered carnivores. They require vast territories and have suffered severely from habitat fragmentation, which brings them into increased contact with humans, exposing them to persecution and deadly diseases carried by domestic dogs. With its large tracts of remote wilderness, South Sudan is a potential stronghold for the African wild dog and other habitat-hungry species whose populations are in steep decline elsewhere. Camera traps have snapped several portraits of these painted hunters in Southern National Park, while rangers on patrol have recorded numerous tracks and even live observations of wild dogs.
African wild dogs. © Roger de la Harpe / Adobe Stock
Hounded dog - These charismatic carnivores face an uncertain future due to growing human pressures.
Mountain chicken
Measuring as much as 20 centimetres from snout to rear and weighing up to a kilo, the mountain chicken is one of the world’s largest – and rarest – frogs. Once found on at least five Caribbean islands, this amphibian giant is now confined to Dominica – where it once had the misfortune to be the unofficial national dish – and to a small enclosed area on nearby Montserrat. Hunting, habitat loss, pollution, climate change and a deadly fungal disease have driven this luckless frog to the very brink. Fauna & Flora’s local partner WildDominique is spearheading an ambitious rescue plan to save the species from extinction.
Mountain chicken. © Olivier Raynaud / Fauna & Flora
Slippery customer - One of Dominica's last surviving mountain chicken frogs sits stoically while scientists collect samples for analysis.
Whale shark
As its name suggests, the whale shark is a gargantuan beast. Measuring up to 60 feet long, these slow-swimming, placid plankton-eaters filter food through their gills rather than ripping apart their prey. Whale sharks face numerous threats including targeted fishing, accidental entanglement in nets, boat collisions, tourist disturbance and an overheating ocean. At coastal project sites in Myanmar, Honduras and São Tomé and Príncipe, Fauna & Flora and our local partners are engaging with communities and policy-makers alike to promote behaviour change and improve protection measures for these endangered gentle giants and other threatened sharks.
Whale shark. © Ollie / Adobe Stock
World's biggest fish - An exquisitely patterned whale shark viewed from above.
New magnolia
Pico Bonito National Park is the largest protected area in Honduras. So, it’s no surprise that it harbours botanical wonders that are still waiting to be discovered. Last year, Fauna & Flora’s in-country partner discovered a new species of magnolia during fieldwork to document and safeguard Pico Bonito’s threatened tree species. The combined pressure from deforestation, agricultural expansion and illegal timber extraction – particularly in the less well-protected areas of the park – poses a clear and present danger to Magnolia ciroorum. The known population currently numbers just 13 trees. While we’re protecting those precious specimens, the race is on to track down more individuals in order to safeguard the future of the species.
Magnolia ciroorum. © Donovan Aguirre / FUPNAPIB
Magnolia mission - Just over a dozen individuals of this newly discovered tree species have been tracked down to date.
Together, we can save nature
Join us on our urgent quest to reverse rampant biodiversity loss and avert climate catastrophe, and help us to stop that two-headed monster in its tracks. It’s the wisest New Year’s Resolution you’ll ever make.
Support our workGreat hornbill. © Biraj Sarkar/ BIA / Minden / Nature Picture Library
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