Back from the brink Species on the priority list

The Amur leopard is native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China. As of 2015, fewer than 60 individuals were thought to survive. In 2019, it was reported the population is close to 90.

The mountain gorilla is a subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It was listed as endangered in 2018. Conservation has led to an increase in population in central Africa to more than 1,000.

The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North

Pacific. Their numbers were once estimated at 150,000– 300,000, but they were hunted extensively for their fur between 1741 and 1911. The world population fell to 1,000–2,000 individuals living in a fraction of their historic range.

The black rhino is native to eastern and southern Africa. During the latter half of the last century their numbers were severely reduced to 15,000 in 1981.

In the early Nineties, the number dipped below 2,500, and in 2004 it was reported that only 2,410 black rhinos remained. By 2019 the population of 5,500 was either steady or slowly increasing.

The mountain chicken frog is a critically endangered species native to the islands of Dominica and Montserrat. In 2004, the population had fallen to 8,000, but by 2019 there were less than 200 on Dominica and few or none surviving in Montserrat.

The Asian black bear is a mediumsized species. It is classified as vulnerable mostly because of deforestation and hunting. Although largely herbivorous, the bears can be very aggressive towards humans, who frequently trap or kill them to use body parts in traditional medicine.