The Crisis of Endangered Wildlife in Africa
Africa, home to some of the world’s most iconic wildlife, faces a severe conservation crisis. Due to habitat loss, poaching, and climate change, many species are on the brink of extinction. Urgent conservation efforts are necessary to preserve biodiversity and protect these magnificent creatures for future generations.
Critically Endangered Species in Africa
🐘 African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) 
Height at the shoulders: 2.5 to 3.95 meters
Weight: 2.5 to 7 metric tons
Diet: Herbivore — feeds on leaves, fruits, and tree bark
Gestation period: Approximately 22 months
Birth: Typically one calf, weighing around 90 kg and standing 90 cm tall at the shoulder
Weaning: Begins at four months; nursing may continue up to three years
Life expectancy: Up to 70 years in the wild
The African elephant is the largest land mammal on Earth. Unfortunately, its impressive size has made it a prime target for poaching. Throughout history, large mammals have often been the first victims of human hunting, and elephants are no exception. They are hunted for their meat, trunks, and especially for their tusks, which are highly valued in the illegal ivory trade.
Today, the global population of African elephants is estimated at around 450,000 individuals, with many local populations dramatically reduced due to habitat loss and hunting pressures.
Conservation Status: Endangered
Main Threats: Poaching for ivory, habitat fragmentation
Conservation Efforts: Anti-poaching patrols, habitat restoration, creation of transboundary wildlife corridors
Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) 
Height at the shoulder: 1.4 to 1.8 meters
Weight: 800 to 1,400 kg
Diet: Herbivore — feeds primarily on bushes, shrubs, and small trees
Gestation period: 15 to 16 months
Birth: Usually one calf, weighing about 35 to 50 kg
Weaning: Between 2 and 3 years
Life expectancy: 35 to 50 years in the wild
The black rhinoceros is one of Africa’s most iconic and critically endangered species. Once widespread across the continent, its population declined dramatically in the 20th century due to relentless poaching for its horns and habitat destruction. Although called “black,” its color is actually similar to the white rhinoceros; the distinction lies in the shape of their lips — black rhinos have a pointed upper lip adapted for browsing vegetation.
Despite conservation efforts, black rhinos are still under serious threat. Their horns are highly prized in illegal markets, particularly in parts of Asia, where they are falsely believed to have medicinal properties.
Today, the total population is estimated at just over 5,000 individuals, a significant recovery from historical lows, but still extremely vulnerable.
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered
Main Threats: Poaching for horn, habitat loss
Conservation Efforts: Anti-poaching operations, relocation to safer reserves, community-based conservation programs
Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)
Height: Between 1.2 and 1.8 m when standing upright
Weight: Between 100 and 220 kg (males can reach up to 180 kg or more)
Diet: Herbivorous, feeds on leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and bark
Gestation period: About 8.5 months
Birth: A single infant, born weighing around 1.8 to 2 kg
Weaning: At around three years old, but remains dependent on the mother for several more years
Life expectancy: Up to 35 to 40 years in the wild
Mountain gorillas live in the misty highland forests of the Virunga Mountains (spanning Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. They are a subspecies of the eastern gorilla and are known for their strong family bonds, led by a dominant silverback male.
Mountain gorillas are one of the most endangered great apes. Due to their large size and strength, they have few natural predators. However, human activities have placed them at severe risk. Habitat destruction, poaching, and human-wildlife conflicts have greatly reduced their populations.
There are only about 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the wild, living in small, isolated populations in the forests of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Thanks to decades of intense conservation work, including anti-poaching patrols and ecotourism initiatives, the population has slowly increased. In the 1980s, there were fewer than 300 individuals left. Today, there are just over 1,000, making them one of the rare conservation success stories — though they remain highly vulnerable.
Conservation Efforts: Ecotourism initiatives, strict anti-poaching laws, habitat restoration, and veterinary interventions to monitor health
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered
Threats: Habitat destruction, human-wildlife conflict, diseases transmitted from humans
African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) 
Height at the shoulders: Between 60 and 75 cm
Weight: Between 18 and 36 kg
Diet: Carnivorous, primarily hunts medium-sized ungulates such as impalas and gazelles
Gestation period: About 69 to 73 days
Birth: A litter of 6 to 12 pups, born in a den and cared for by the entire pack
Weaning: At around 10 weeks, but pups rely on regurgitated food from adults for several months
Life expectancy: Up to 10 to 12 years in the wild
The African wild dog, also known as the painted wolf, is one of the most effective hunters in Africa, known for its stamina, speed, and cooperative pack strategies. Once found across almost the entire sub-Saharan region, its range has drastically declined.
African wild dogs are highly social, living in packs with strong cooperative hunting strategies. However, they face severe threats from habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, and diseases such as rabies and canine distemper transmitted by domestic animals.
Today, fewer than 6,000 individuals remain, spread thinly across fragmented pockets of southern and eastern Africa. Their survival is threatened by habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, and infectious diseases like rabies and distemper, often contracted from domestic dogs.
Conservation Status: Endangered
Main Threats: Habitat loss, human conflict, disease
Conservation Efforts: Vaccination programs, habitat connectivity (wildlife corridors), and public awareness campaigns
🐵 Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
Height when standing upright: 1.0 to 1.7 m
Weight: 32 to 60 kg
Diet: Omnivorous – fruits, leaves, insects, small mammals, and even other primates
Gestation period: Around 230 days (~7.5 months)
Birth: Usually a single infant, occasionally twins
Weaning: Around 3 to 4 years, though young stay close to the mother for longer
Life expectancy: Up to 50 years in the wild
Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, sharing about 98.7% of human DNA. They are highly intelligent, capable of using tools, solving problems, and expressing emotions. Social structures in chimpanzee communities are complex and vary across regions.
Current estimates suggest there are between 170,000 and 300,000 individuals left in the wild, mainly in West and Central Africa.
Conservation Status: Endangered
Main Threats: Habitat loss due to logging and agriculture, hunting for bushmeat, and disease (including human-transmitted illnesses)
Conservation Efforts: Protection of forests, ecotourism initiatives, anti-poaching patrols, and disease monitoring
Por: Tommyknocker Bernard DUPONT
🦁 African Lion (Panthera leo) 
Height at the shoulder: 1.1 to 1.2 m (males), slightly less for females
Weight: 150 to 250 kg (males), 110 to 180 kg (females)
Diet: Carnivorous – preys on large herbivores like zebras, wildebeest, and buffalo
Gestation period: Approximately 110 days
Birth: 1 to 4 cubs per litter
Weaning: Around 6 to 7 months
Life expectancy: Up to 14 years in the wild, longer in captivity
The African lion is a symbol of strength and majesty, but its population is in sharp decline due to human activities. Lions live in prides and have complex social structures. They play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance by regulating herbivore populations.
Today, the total wild population is estimated at around 20,000 individuals, a decline of over 40% in just a few decades.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Main Threats: Habitat loss, human-lion conflict, prey depletion, and trophy hunting
Conservation Efforts: Anti-poaching initiatives, conflict mitigation programs, establishment of protected areas, and community involvement
Por: James Temple Por: Mariomassone
🐆 Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
Height at the shoulder: 67 to 94 cm
Weight: 21 to 72 kg
Diet: Carnivorous – mainly hunts small to medium-sized ungulates like gazelles and impalas
Gestation period: Around 90 to 95 days
Birth: 3 to 5 cubs on average
Weaning: Around 4 to 6 months
Life expectancy: 10 to 12 years in the wild
The cheetah is the fastest land animal on Earth, capable of reaching speeds of up to 112 km/h in short bursts. It thrives in open grasslands and savannas, where it can use its speed and agility to catch prey. Despite its impressive adaptations, the cheetah faces increasing pressure from habitat loss, human conflict, and a lack of genetic diversity.
Current global wild population estimates are fewer than 7,000 individuals, with only a fraction living in protected areas.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Main Threats: Habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, illegal wildlife trade, low genetic diversity
Conservation Efforts: Habitat connectivity programs, education initiatives, relocation and reintroduction strategies, and genetic monitoring
🦒 North giraffe or Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) 
Height: Between 4.3 and 5.7 meters (males can reach up to 6 m)
Weight: 800 to 1,200 kg
Diet: Herbivorous – feeds mainly on leaves, especially acacia, as well as fruits and flowers
Gestation Period: Approximately 15 months
Birth: Usually a single calf weighing around 100 kg and standing about 1.8 meters tall
Weaning: At 9 to 12 months, but calves may stay with their mothers longer
Life Expectancy: Up to 25 years in the wild
Despite their iconic status and towering presence, giraffes have been silently slipping toward extinction. Their populations have declined drastically over the last few decades, largely due to habitat loss and poaching. The northern giraffe, in particular, has seen some of the most severe population drops.
There are estimated to be fewer than 5,000 northern giraffes remaining in the wild.
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered (IUCN classification varies slightly among subspecies)
Threats: Habitat destruction, illegal hunting, civil unrest in range countries
Conservation Efforts:
- Establishment and protection of reserves and conservation areas
- Anti-poaching patrols
- Translocation programs to support population recovery
- Research and population monitoring
- Community-based conservation initiatives
🐵Bonobo (Pan paniscus)
Height: 75 to 90 cm
Weight: 34 to 60 kg
Diet: Omnivorous – includes fruits, leaves, small animals, and occasionally insects
Gestation Period: About 240 to 270 days
Birth: Typically one offspring, weighing around 1.5 kg at birth
Weaning: At around 6 months, though some young bonobos stay close to their mothers for several years
Life Expectancy: Up to 40 to 50 years in the wild
Bonobos, often referred to as “pygmy chimpanzees,” are closely related to common chimpanzees. They are known for their peaceful and cooperative social structure, contrasting with the more hierarchical structure of common chimpanzees. Bonobos live in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are considered one of our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom.
Unfortunately, their population has been greatly reduced due to habitat destruction, hunting, and the illegal pet trade. Bonobos are critically endangered and face an uncertain future in the wild.
The global population is estimated to be fewer than 10,000 individuals, with some estimates as low as 2,000 to 3,000.
Conservation Status: Endangered (IUCN)
Threats: Habitat destruction, poaching, and human encroachment
Conservation Efforts:
- Anti-poaching patrols and habitat protection
- Awareness campaigns in local communities to reduce hunting pressure
- Support for protected areas and the establishment of wildlife corridors
- Promoting conservation initiatives through partnerships with local NGOs and governments
- Education and advocacy for better legal protections
Pangolin (Manis)
Height/Length: Varies by species, typically 40 to 100 cm (1.3 to 3.3 feet)
Weight: Typically between 2 and 10 kg (4.4 to 22 lbs)
Diet: Ants and termites, which they consume using their long, sticky tongues
Gestation Period: Around 140 to 180 days, depending on the species
Birth: Usually a single offspring, born blind and helpless
Weaning: Between 6 and 12 months
Life Expectancy: Up to 20 years in the wild
Conservation Status: Endangered
Threats: Poaching for their scales and meat, habitat destruction
Conservation Efforts: Anti-poaching patrols, rehabilitation programs, wildlife trafficking laws enforcement, and increasing awareness.
Pangolins are one of the most trafficked animals in the world, primarily due to demand for their scales, which are used in traditional medicine, and their meat, considered a delicacy in some regions. They are elusive and solitary animals, primarily nocturnal, which makes them hard to monitor and protect.
Organizations Leading Conservation Efforts
1. African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)
AWF works to protect land, empower local communities, and combat wildlife trafficking across Africa. African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is one of the largest and oldest international conservation organizations based in and focused solely on Africa.
We protect at-risk wildlife and their habitats, partner with communities on strategies to coexist with nature, and support current and future African leaders to make thoughtful decisions about conservation and development.
Our work relies on the generous support of donors like you.
Join us in building a resilient future for Africa and the world—a future where both people and wildlife thrive, together. Please give today.
2. Save the Rhino International
Today Save the Rhino, led by CEO Jo Shaw, still takes every opportunity to prance about in these costumes; in fact, we now have twelve of them! We continue to take on extreme challenges across the world to raise money for rhino conservation, but we have certainly come a long way from the early days.
Since 2001, Save the Rhino has grown from a small charity raising £300,000 a year, to where we are today, raising around £2,000,000 for programmes in six African and two Asian countries, for all five species of rhino.
For 30 years from our humble beginnings with a big vision, our small team of nine still hold true to Dave’s founding principle that the money we raise “will be most effectively spent”.
We work with expert partners and use tested technologies and relevant scientific research to ensure our investments in rhino conservation have the greatest impact. We pride ourselves on the fact that we do not simply follow the latest fads but make sure that all our funding decisions are nuanced and well-researched, and in the best interests of rhinos and the people who protect them. https://www.savetherhino.org/get-involved/donate/
https://www.savetherhino.org/get-involved/donate/
Donate to Save the Rhino: Endangered Species in Africa: Threats, Conservation & How to Help3. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
Our core mission is to save gorillas. We do this through a holistic approach that is founded on four key pillars: daily gorilla protection, scientific research, training the next generation of conservationists in Africa, and helping local communities. Our goal is to ensure the future of gorilla conservation for generations to come.
Donate to Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund
4. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Africa
WWF implements projects to combat deforestation, mitigate climate change, and protect Africa’s endangered species. Our strategic plan for Africa 2021-2025 seeks to debunk two big myths: One, that Conservation and Economic Development cannot co- exist; and two, that Conservation is only for the elite few.
Our overarching approach is one of Inclusive Conservation that ensures everyone’s voice is heard and that human rights and gender equity are central to our work and that we tackle power imbalances and corruption through effective and inclusive natural resource governance.
Building on our work over the past 60 years, our Africa strategy integrates our work across 14 countries, 7 priority landscapes, and a portfolio of regional programs in a framework aligned to WWF’s Global Goals of Zero loss of natural habitat, zero extinction and halving the human footprint of consumption, production, and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2030.
https://africa.panda.org/donate
5. The African Pangolin Working Group
The African Pangolin Working Group (APWG) was established on 27 June 2011, following an inaugural meeting by a diverse group of people who all have one passion in common – understanding and protecting pangolins in Africa.
The APWG’s objectives are encompassed by its mission statement: “The African Pangolin Working Group will strive towards the conservation and protection of all four African pangolin species by generating knowledge, developing partnerships and creating public awareness and education initiatives.”
This organization fights illegal pangolin trafficking and promotes their conservation through research and advocacy.
https://africanpangolin.org/about
How You Can Help
- Support Conservation Groups: Donate or volunteer with reputable wildlife organizations.
- Promote Awareness: Share information about endangered species and their threats.
- Advocate for Stronger Laws: Encourage governments to strengthen wildlife protection policies.
- Practice Sustainable Tourism: Choose eco-friendly safaris that support conservation initiatives.
Conclusion
Africa’s rich biodiversity is at risk, but with collective efforts, we can make a difference. By supporting conservation organizations, spreading awareness, and advocating for wildlife protection, we can help safeguard these species for future generations.
Stay Informed & Take Action!
Wildlife conservation is a shared responsibility. Follow trusted conservation organizations and stay updated on how you can contribute to protecting Africa’s endangered species.