While around 18,000 new animal, insect or plant species are discovered yearly, other species are on the edge of extinction — including some that are newly discovered and others that have been around in some form for million of years.
The African continent alone has more than four large mammals whose populations are, for the most part, declining at a worrisome pace. They include the gorilla, elephant, lion and rhino. The latter three are particularly in danger due to illegal poaching, with byproducts typically being exported for medicinal or other consumer use — part of a multi-billion dollar industry.
Here are some hard statistics on the rhino, with additional numbers on the elephant, and lion. Non-African species have occasionally been mentioned for comparison. While the two African rhino species are not on the IUCN Red List (the world’s most endangered species list), their three Asian rhino species cousins are. There are also nearly a dozen other species on the Red List top 100 whose habitats are on the African continent, including the islands of Madagascar and Mauritius.
Source: SuperScholar.org