Region
Endangered animals of Africa
Threatened species across the African continent and Madagascar. Each record shows the species' global IUCN Red List category and links to authoritative sources. National legal status is separate — see the note below.
58 records · last reviewed
Data limitations
- These are educational summaries, not the official assessment. Conservation status can change as new science and threats emerge.
- We show the global IUCN Red List category. A species' national or local legal status can differ from its global category — national Red Books and protected-species laws vary by country.
- Each record shows a last-verified date and a data-confidence flag so you can see how current and how checked it is.
- Always verify the current status on the official IUCN Red List and the relevant national wildlife authority. FaunaHub does not replace conservation authorities.
Dataset last reviewed: Full data methodology →
Threatened species of Africa
Addax
Addax nasomaculatus
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingAfrican Forest Elephant
Loxodonta cyclotis
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Recognised as a separate species from the African bush elephant in the 2021 IUCN assessment.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingAfrican Penguin
Spheniscus demersus
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Reported as up-listed to Critically Endangered in 2024 amid steep colony declines; confirm the current category on the live IUCN entry.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingBlack Rhinoceros
Diceros bicornis
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingBlack-and-white Ruffed Lemur
Varecia variegata
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingDama Gazelle
Nanger dama
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingEastern Gorilla
Gorilla beringei
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Includes the mountain gorilla, whose closely monitored sub-population has shown localised recovery.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingEgyptian Tortoise
Testudo kleinmanni
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, reptile-database.reptarium.cz
Index record onlySource review pendingGeometric Tortoise
Psammobates geometricus
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingGolden Mantella
Mantella aurantiaca
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, AmphibiaWeb (UC Berkeley)
Index record onlySource review pendingGreater Bamboo Lemur
Prolemur simus
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingHooded Vulture
Necrosyrtes monachus
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingIndri
Indri indri
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingLake Oku Clawed Frog
Xenopus longipes
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, AmphibiaWeb (UC Berkeley)
Index record onlySource review pendingMadagascar Fish Eagle
Haliaeetus vociferoides
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingPloughshare Tortoise
Astrochelys yniphora
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingRadiated Tortoise
Astrochelys radiata
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingSpider Tortoise
Pyxis arachnoides
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, reptile-database.reptarium.cz
Index record onlySource review pendingTable Mountain Ghost Frog
Heleophryne rosei
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, AmphibiaWeb (UC Berkeley)
Index record onlySource review pendingVerreaux's Sifaka
Propithecus verreauxi
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingWest African Slender-snouted Crocodile
Mecistops cataphractus
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, reptile-database.reptarium.cz
Index record onlySource review pendingWest Indian Ocean Coelacanth
Latimeria chalumnae
- Group
- Fish
- Last verified
- Verified
A deep-water 'living fossil' lineage once thought extinct until rediscovery in 1938.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingWestern Gorilla
Gorilla gorilla
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web, Smithsonian's National Zoo
See FaunaHub animal profile →Source review pendingWhite-backed Vulture
Gyps africanus
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingAfrican Bush Elephant
Loxodonta africana
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Assessed separately from the African forest elephant since 2021. FaunaHub's general elephant profile is linked.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
See FaunaHub animal profile →Source review pendingAfrican Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus
- Group
- Mammals
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Detailed FaunaHub profile →Partial reviewAye-aye
Daubentonia madagascariensis
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingBarbary Macaque
Macaca sylvanus
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingBonobo
Pan paniscus
- Group
- Mammals
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Detailed FaunaHub profile →Partial reviewChimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
See FaunaHub animal profile →Source review pendingDrill
Mandrillus leucophaeus
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingEgyptian Vulture
Neophron percnopterus
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingEthiopian Wolf
Canis simensis
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Africa's most threatened carnivore and rarest canid.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingGrévy's Zebra
Equus grevyi
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingGrey Crowned Crane
Balearica regulorum
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingGrey Parrot
Psittacus erithacus
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Heavily affected by the cage-bird trade.
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingKnysna Seahorse
Hippocampus capensis
- Group
- Fish
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, FishBase
Index record onlySource review pendingMartial Eagle
Polemaetus bellicosus
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingNorthern Bald Ibis
Geronticus eremita
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingOkapi
Okapia johnstoni
- Group
- Mammals
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Detailed FaunaHub profile →Partial reviewPygmy Hippopotamus
Choeropsis liberiensis
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingRing-tailed Lemur
Lemur catta
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
See FaunaHub animal profile →Source review pendingRound Island Keel-scaled Boa
Casarea dussumieri
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, reptile-database.reptarium.cz
Index record onlySource review pendingScimitar-horned Oryx
Oryx dammah
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Formerly Extinct in the Wild; reassessed Endangered in 2023 following reintroduction in Chad.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingSecretarybird
Sagittarius serpentarius
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingBlack-footed Cat
Felis nigripes
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingBlue Crane
Grus paradisea
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingCape Vulture
Gyps coprotheres
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingCheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web, Smithsonian's National Zoo
See FaunaHub animal profile →Source review pendingCommon Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus amphibius
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingFossa
Cryptoprocta ferox
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Madagascar's largest carnivore.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingGiraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Giraffe taxonomy is under active revision; some authorities now recognise multiple species and subspecies with differing risk levels.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
See FaunaHub animal profile →Source review pendingLeopard
Panthera pardus
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Several leopard subspecies (e.g. the Amur and Arabian leopard) are assessed at higher risk than the species as a whole.
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
See FaunaHub animal profile →Source review pendingLion
Panthera leo
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web, Smithsonian's National Zoo
See FaunaHub animal profile →Source review pendingMandrill
Mandrillus sphinx
- Group
- Mammals
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Index record onlySource review pendingShoebill
Balaeniceps rex
- Group
- Birds
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, Animal Diversity Web
Detailed FaunaHub profile →Partial reviewWattled Crane
Bugeranus carunculatus
- Group
- Birds
- Last verified
- Verified
Sources: IUCN Red List, BirdLife International
Index record onlySource review pendingKihansi Spray Toad
Nectophrynoides asperginis
- Group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Last verified
- Verified
Listed Extinct in the Wild; subject of a captive-breeding and reintroduction programme in Tanzania.
Sources: IUCN Red List, AmphibiaWeb (UC Berkeley)
Index record onlySource review pending
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this list show legally protected species in Africa?
How were these species chosen for Africa?
Is this a complete list of threatened species in the region?
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