ENVIRONMENT
WATER DEER
COUNTRY South Korea SCIENTIFIC NAME Hydropotes inermis ENDANGERMENT LEVEL Vulnerable THREATS Poaching and Habitat Loss Water deer are colloquially referred to as “vampire deer” due to the long canines that protrude from their mouths. These tusks are used for territorial fights, since water deer lack antlers.
GOLDEN SNUB-NOSED MONKEY COUNTRY China SCIENTIFIC NAME Rhinopithecus roxellana ENDANGERMENT LEVEL Endangered THREATS Hunting and Habitat Loss
Golden snub-nosed monkeys are folivores (herbivores that primarily feed on leaves), but because of the degradation of their habitat, they have adapted to eat a wide variety of food, including tree bark, fir needles, bamboo, insects, and small birds.
SAOLA
COUNTRY Vietnam SCIENTIFIC NAME Pseudoryx nghetinhensis ENDANGERMENT LEVEL Critically Endangered THREATS Hunting Although native Vietnamese hunters were aware of the saola’s existence, it wasn’t an official scientific discovery until 1992, when it became the first new large mammal to be found in more than 50 years.
ASIATIC BLACK BEAR
COUNTRY Taiwan SCIENTIFIC NAME Ursus thibetanus ENDANGERMENT LEVEL Vulnerable THREATS Poaching and Habitat Loss Asiatic black bears are also referred to as “moon bears” because of the crescent-shaped white patch on their chests.
QUOKKA
COUNTRY Australia SCIENTIFIC NAME Setonix brachyurus ENDANGERMENT LEVEL Vulnerable THREATS Habitat Loss
SIAMESE CROCODILE
COUNTRY Thailand SCIENTIFIC NAME Crocodylus siamensis ENDANGERMENT LEVEL Critically Endangered THREATS Hunting and Habitat Loss Females will lay 20 – 50 eggs when breeding; after these young crocodiles hatch, their mother will carry them to the water in her jaws. 42 PACIFIC RIM 2015
Quokkas are often described as “the happiest animal in the world” and have gained recent popularity in social media because of a trend known as the #quokkaselfie.