World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/proboscis-monkey): Proboscis Monkey — wildlife guide.

## The remarkable nose
The species is named for the male's proboscis - a fleshy, drooping nose that can hang lower than the mouth and grows larger with age. Research suggests it is shaped by sexual selection: a bigger nose acts as a resonating chamber that amplifies the male's honking calls and may signal size and dominance to females and rivals. Females prefer larger-nosed males, and nose size correlates with body mass and the number of females a male attracts. Females and infants, by contrast, have small, neat, upturned noses, making the sexes easy to tell apart.

## What rescue and protection involve
Protecting proboscis monkeys is mostly about protecting habitat. Because they cannot survive away from intact riverine and mangrove forest, conservation centres on safeguarding river corridors, restoring degraded mangroves, reducing forest conversion and maintaining connected patches so isolated groups can mix. On-the-ground work also includes monitoring populations, reducing hunting and snaring, managing wildlife tourism so it does not stress the animals, and rehabilitating individuals orphaned or displaced by land clearing. Effective action depends on local rangers, community-run reserves and sanctuary teams who know the rivers and can respond quickly.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that raises funds for local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network - including Indonesia and Malaysia, which together hold almost the entire wild proboscis monkey population on Borneo. For a mangrove specialist like this, the most useful support is sustained funding for the local teams who protect river corridors, monitor groups and care for displaced animals on the ground. WARN's role is to channel donor money to those in-country partners and to raise wider awareness of why Borneo's forests matter; we are honest that the long-term work of habitat protection sits with established field organisations and government reserves, which our partners support rather than replace.

## Donation hook
Borneo's proboscis monkeys survive only where their mangroves and riverbanks do. A donation helps WARN fund the local rescue and ranger teams in Indonesia and Malaysia working to keep those forests - and the monkeys in them - standing.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/proboscis-monkey): Proboscis Monkey — wildlife guide.

## How long do proboscis monkeys live?
In captivity proboscis monkeys can live to at least 23 years, with averages around 20 to 21 years. Lifespan in the wild is less well documented and is generally shorter because of predation, hunting and habitat pressures.

## What do proboscis monkeys eat?
They are mainly leaf and seed eaters. Their diet is dominated by young leaves, unripe fruit and seeds - including those of mangrove trees - and shifts seasonally toward more fruit early in the year and more leaves later. A specialised chambered stomach ferments this tough plant material.

## How big do proboscis monkeys get?
Males are large, with a head-and-body length of about 66 to 76 cm and weights of roughly 16 to 22 kg, exceptionally up to about 30 kg. Females are much smaller, around 53 to 62 cm and about 7 to 12 kg.

## Are proboscis monkeys dangerous to humans?
No. They are shy, plant-eating monkeys that avoid people and spend most of their time in trees near water. They are not considered dangerous, though like any wild animal they should be observed at a respectful distance and never fed.

## How many proboscis monkeys are left?
The IUCN estimates fewer than around 7,000 mature individuals remain, spread across a fragmented range in Borneo, and the population has declined by more than 50% over roughly the last 40 years. The species is classed as Endangered.

## Why is the male's nose so big?
Scientists think the male's large nose is driven by sexual selection: it amplifies his honking calls and signals body size and dominance. Females prefer larger-nosed males, and nose size is linked to weight and mating success.

## Where do proboscis monkeys live?
Proboscis Monkeys live in Indonesia, Malaysia. A proboscis monkey is a large, reddish-brown Old World monkey found only on the island of Borneo (in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei), famous for the male's oversized hanging nose and for living in coastal mangrove and riverside forests; the IUCN classes it as Endangered.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/sumatran-rhino): Sumatran Rhino — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A Sumatran rhino is the smallest, hairiest living rhinoceros — a two-horned, rainforest-dwelling species of Indonesia and the only surviving member of the genus Dicerorhinus, now Critically Endangered with fewer than roughly 50 individuals left.

## Introduction
The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is the smallest living rhinoceros and the only Asian rhino with two horns. A shy, solitary browser of Indonesia's dense rainforests, it is the last survivor of an ancient lineage closely related to the extinct woolly rhino — and, with fewer than about 50 animals remaining, one of the rarest large mammals alive.

## Takeaway
It is the smallest living rhino and the only Asian rhino with two horns, weighing roughly 500–1,000 kg.

## Takeaway
Its reddish-brown body is patchily covered in coarse hair — unusual among rhinos — earning it the nickname 'hairy rhino'.

## Takeaway
It is the closest living relative of the extinct woolly rhinoceros and the sole survivor of the genus Dicerorhinus.

## Takeaway
Fewer than about 50 survive, in fragmented forest pockets of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia.

## Takeaway
Habitat loss and the isolation of tiny scattered groups — which struggle to find mates — are now the biggest threats, alongside a poaching legacy.

## Takeaway
A captive-breeding programme in Indonesia is central to the species' survival, having produced rare successful births.

## Why the Sumatran rhino is so endangered
The Sumatran rhino has crashed by more than 80% over recent decades, driven first by relentless poaching for its horns and then by the loss and fragmentation of its lowland rainforest. The animals that remain are scattered across a handful of isolated pockets in Indonesia, separated by plantations, roads and human settlement. Because the species is solitary and naturally low in density, these tiny groups rarely encounter one another, so breeding has all but stalled in the wild. Females that go too long without mating can develop reproductive problems, compounding the decline. With perhaps only a few dozen animals left, the IUCN warns the species could vanish without urgent intervention.

## Behaviour and ecology
This is a forest specialist — a shy, mostly solitary browser that feeds on saplings, leaves, twigs, fruit and bark from more than a hundred plant species, eating tens of kilograms a day. It frequents mineral licks and wallows in mud to cool down and protect its skin, and is a capable swimmer and climber of steep terrain. Sumatran rhinos communicate over distance with whistles, squeaks and other vocalisations, more vocal than their larger relatives. Two horns, fringed ears and that distinctive coat of coarse hair make it unmistakable among rhinos and link it visually to its Ice Age ancestors.

## What rescue and recovery involve
Saving the Sumatran rhino now hinges on a two-pronged effort: protecting and monitoring the last wild animals, and bringing isolated individuals into a managed captive-breeding programme so that they can reproduce safely under expert care. In Indonesia, sanctuary teams track wild rhinos, run anti-poaching patrols, secure forest habitat, and provide round-the-clock veterinary support to breeding animals. Each successful birth is hard-won and significant given how few animals exist. This work depends on trained local rangers, veterinarians and sanctuary staff operating in remote, difficult forest — and on the sustained funding that keeps them in the field.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/sumatran-rhino): Sumatran Rhino — wildlife guide.

## WARN work
Indonesia is one of WARN's partner-network countries, so the Sumatran rhino sits squarely within our funded model: as a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation, WARN channels support to local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams on the ground rather than running operations ourselves. For a species this rare, that means backing the Indonesian rangers, veterinarians and sanctuary staff who protect the last wild rhinos and care for the captive-breeding animals — while WARN also raises wider public awareness of the species' plight. We are honest about our stage: our role is to help fund frontline partners and amplify their work, not to claim credit for the science and fieldwork they deliver.

## Donation hook
With fewer than about 50 Sumatran rhinos left, every ranger patrol and veterinary shift in Indonesia counts. Supporting the Rhino Appeal helps WARN fund the local partner teams in Indonesia who protect and breed the last of this ancient species.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/sumatran-rhino): Sumatran Rhino — wildlife guide.

## How many Sumatran rhinos are left?
Fewer than about 50. The most recent IUCN-cited field estimate puts the wild population at roughly 34–47 individuals, scattered across fragmented forests in Indonesia, making it one of the rarest large mammals on Earth.

## How big is a Sumatran rhino?
It is the smallest living rhino, standing about 112–145 cm at the shoulder, measuring roughly 2.4–3.2 m in head-and-body length, and weighing around 500–1,000 kg (most fall near 700–800 kg).

## What do Sumatran rhinos eat?
They are browsers, feeding on saplings, leaves, twigs, shoots, fruit and bark from more than 100 plant species, and can eat tens of kilograms of vegetation a day. They also visit mineral licks.

## How long do Sumatran rhinos live?
They live roughly 35–40 years, with some sources citing up to about 45 years. Females typically produce a single calf every three to four years after a 15–16 month gestation.

## Are Sumatran rhinos dangerous?
No — they are shy, solitary and elusive, and avoid people whenever possible. They are far more threatened by humans than the other way around, and pose little danger when left undisturbed in their forest habitat.

## Why is the Sumatran rhino so special?
It is the smallest and hairiest rhino, the only two-horned Asian rhino, and the last surviving member of the genus Dicerorhinus — the closest living relative of the extinct woolly rhinoceros, making it a living link to the Ice Age.

## Where do sumatran rhinoceros live?
Sumatran Rhinoceros live in Indonesia. A Sumatran rhino is the smallest, hairiest living rhinoceros — a two-horned, rainforest-dwelling species of Indonesia and the only surviving member of the genus Dicerorhinus, now Critically Endangered with fewer than roughly 50 individuals left.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/indus-river-dolphin): Indus River Dolphin — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The Indus River dolphin (Platanista minor), or bhulan, is a small, nearly blind freshwater dolphin found only in the Indus River system of Pakistan; it is the national mammal of Pakistan and is classified as Endangered, with fewer than about 2,000 mature individuals remaining.

## Introduction
The Indus River dolphin, known locally as the bhulan, is one of the world's rarest freshwater dolphins and the national mammal of Pakistan. Functionally blind, it navigates the cloudy waters of the Indus River system almost entirely by echolocation, often swimming on its side. Once spread across some 3,400 km of river, it now survives in a fragmented range carved up by irrigation barrages and water diversion.

## Takeaway
It is the national mammal of Pakistan and survives almost entirely within the Indus River system there, with a tiny remnant in India's Beas River.

## Takeaway
It is functionally blind — it lacks a crystalline eye lens and relies on echolocation to hunt in murky water.

## Takeaway
Adults typically swim on their side, trailing a flipper along the riverbed to detect prey.

## Takeaway
Females are larger than males, reaching about 2.4-2.6 m versus roughly 2-2.2 m for males.

## Takeaway
Irrigation barrages have split the population into isolated subpopulations and divert the water it depends on.

## Takeaway
After near-collapse, conservation work has helped numbers recover from a few hundred to close to 2,000, but the species remains Endangered.

## Why it is endangered
The Indus River dolphin is threatened above all by the engineering of its own river. Since the 19th century, a network of dams and irrigation barrages has been built across the Indus, chopping a once-continuous range of roughly 3,400 km into fragmented stretches and reducing the species' distribution by around 80 percent. These barrages block movement between subpopulations and divert huge volumes of water into canals, where dolphins regularly become stranded as flows drop. Additional pressures include entanglement in fishing nets, water pollution, and historical hunting for meat and oil. The IUCN assessed the species as Endangered in 2021, noting an estimated population of about 1,987 mature individuals and a continuing decline driven by escalating demand for Indus water.

## Behaviour and ecology
This is a dolphin built for a world without light. Living in heavily silt-laden water, it has lost the use of functional eyes — it has no crystalline lens and can likely only sense light direction and intensity — and instead 'sees' through a near-constant stream of echolocation clicks. It commonly swims on one side, sweeping a flipper near the bottom to find prey, then rights itself to breathe. Its diet is made up of bottom-dwelling fish such as catfish and carp along with prawns and other invertebrates. The body is stocky and brownish-grey, with a long tooth-lined beak, a bulging forehead, tiny pinhole eyes, and a low ridge rather than a tall dorsal fin.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/indus-river-dolphin): Indus River Dolphin — wildlife guide.

## Reproduction and life cycle
Indus River dolphins reproduce slowly, which makes recovery from population crashes difficult. After a gestation of roughly 8-9 months, a female gives birth to a single calf measuring around 70 cm at birth. The calf nurses for up to about a year and stays closely associated with its mother during early life. Animals are thought to live up to around 30 years, with exceptional individuals recorded older. Because reproduction is slow and the population is small and fragmented, even modest losses from canal stranding or net entanglement can have an outsized effect on the species' long-term survival.

## What rescue and protection involve
Protecting the bhulan is as much about water management as about the animals themselves. Front-line conservation centres on rescuing dolphins that become trapped in irrigation canals when barrage gates divert flow, then safely returning them to the main river. It also means patrolling against illegal fishing and harmful net use, monitoring populations through coordinated surveys, securing minimum environmental flows past barrages, and working with riverside communities whose livelihoods are tied to the same water. Because the species lives only in one river system, the health of the Indus dolphin is a direct indicator of the health of the river that millions of people also depend on.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that raises funds for local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network. The Indus River dolphin lives almost entirely within Pakistan, one of WARN's funded countries, which makes it a natural fit for WARN's partner-funded model: channelling donations to in-country teams who carry out canal rescues, anti-poaching patrols and river monitoring. Alongside funding front-line partners, WARN's role is to raise global awareness of this little-known, nearly blind dolphin and the barrage and water-diversion pressures that threaten it.

## Donation hook
Every gift to WARN's habitat work helps fund the Pakistan-based partner teams who pull stranded bhulan from irrigation canals and keep the Indus flowing for its last dolphins.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/indus-river-dolphin): Indus River Dolphin — wildlife guide.

## How many Indus River dolphins are left?
The 2021 IUCN assessment estimated about 1,987 mature individuals, based on a 2017 survey of the main subpopulations. The species remains Endangered, though numbers have recovered from a few hundred decades ago to close to 2,000.

## Why is the Indus River dolphin blind?
It lives in extremely silty, murky water where vision is of little use, so over time it lost functional sight. It has no crystalline eye lens and can probably only detect the direction and intensity of light. It navigates and hunts using echolocation instead.

## What do Indus River dolphins eat?
They feed mainly on bottom-dwelling freshwater fish such as catfish and carp, along with prawns and other invertebrates, locating prey by echolocation in water where they cannot see.

## How big are Indus River dolphins?
Females are larger than males, reaching about 2.4-2.6 m, while males are roughly 2-2.2 m. Adults typically weigh on the order of 70-110 kg.

## Are Indus River dolphins dangerous to humans?
No. They are shy, non-aggressive animals that pose no threat to people. The danger runs the other way — dams, water diversion, fishing nets and pollution all threaten the dolphins.

## What is a baby Indus River dolphin called and how is it born?
A baby is called a calf. After a gestation of about 8-9 months a female gives birth to a single calf around 70 cm long, which then nurses for up to about a year.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/working-donkey): Working Donkey — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A working donkey is a domesticated donkey (Equus africanus asinus) used to carry loads, pull carts, or turn mills; it descends from the Critically Endangered African wild ass, and while the species itself is not threatened, individual working donkeys in regions such as Pakistan commonly suffer from overloading, ill-fitting harnesses, and limited veterinary access.

## Introduction
The working donkey (Equus africanus asinus) is the domesticated descendant of the African wild ass, kept for around 5,000 years to carry loads, pull carts, and turn mills. Roughly 50 million live worldwide, the vast majority in low-income regions of Asia and Africa where they remain essential to family income. In Pakistan — home to about 5.9 million donkeys — they haul bricks, water, and goods, and their welfare hinges on harness fit, load limits, and access to basic veterinary care.

## Takeaway
The working donkey is a domesticated subspecies, Equus africanus asinus, not a wild or threatened species — it is listed as Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List because domesticated animals are generally not assessed.

## Takeaway
Its wild ancestor, the African wild ass (Equus africanus), is Critically Endangered, with perhaps 200 or fewer mature individuals left, and is protected under CITES Appendix I; the domestic donkey is not CITES-listed.

## Takeaway
Around 50 million donkeys live worldwide; Pakistan holds about 5.9 million, one of the largest and steadily growing national populations.

## Takeaway
In a 2022 study of working donkeys in Pakistan, 87% carried loads exceeding half their body weight, and donkeys used to move bricks were about 2.5 times more likely to have moderate-to-deep skin lesions.

## Takeaway
Welfare for working donkeys depends on load limits, well-fitted harnesses and pads, water, shade, hoof care, and access to a vet — needs that are routinely unmet at remote brick kilns.

## Takeaway
Donkeys are intelligent, stoic, and herd-bonded; they mask pain and fear, so visible exhaustion or a wound often signals a problem that began much earlier.

## Is the Working Donkey Endangered?
No — the working donkey is a domesticated animal, not a wild species in decline. With roughly 50 million worldwide and numbers in countries like Pakistan rising year on year, the donkey is abundant. That is why the IUCN Red List records the domestic form as Not Evaluated: conservation assessments target wild populations. The honest welfare story is different from a conservation one. The animal that does need conservation is the donkey's wild ancestor, the African wild ass (Equus africanus), assessed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered with as few as 200 mature individuals remaining and a continuing decline driven by hunting, drought, and competition with livestock. So when people ask 'how many donkeys are left,' the answer splits in two: the working donkey is in no danger of extinction, while the wild ass it came from very nearly is.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/working-donkey): Working Donkey — wildlife guide.

## Behaviour and Biology
Donkeys evolved in the dry uplands of north-east Africa, and that desert ancestry shapes them. They are sure-footed, drought-tolerant, and able to digest coarse, fibrous forage that would not sustain a horse. They are also famously stoic: unlike horses, donkeys tend not to flee from a threat but to freeze and assess, which is often mistaken for stubbornness. This same trait means they hide pain and illness well, so a donkey that looks 'fine' can be carrying an untreated wound, lameness, or dental problem. Socially they bond strongly, sometimes forming lifelong attachments to a companion, and separation can cause real distress. A female (jenny) carries a single foal for about 12 months, and donkeys can live 30 years or more when well cared for.

## The Welfare Problems of Working Donkeys
The threats to a working donkey are not predators or habitat loss but daily working conditions. Overloading is the central problem: a 2022 study of working donkeys in Pakistan found that 87% carried more than half their body weight, with some estimated to carry over 150% of it. Ill-fitting or improvised harnesses and pack saddles rub against skin under heavy loads, producing girth galls, back sores, and open wounds; donkeys hauling bricks were around 2.5 times more likely than others to have moderate-to-deep skin lesions. Add heat stress, dehydration, untreated lameness, poor nutrition, overgrown or cracked hooves, and a lack of vaccination or parasite control, and the result is chronic, preventable suffering. Many brick kilns sit outside towns, far from any veterinary service, so problems compound before help ever arrives.

## What Working-Donkey Rescue Involves
Helping working donkeys is rarely about removing them from work — for many families the donkey is the difference between income and hardship. Effective welfare work meets owners where they are: free or low-cost mobile veterinary clinics that treat wounds, lameness, colic, and parasites; farrier and dental care; and practical fixes like properly padded harnesses and clear, locally credible guidance on safe load limits, rest, water, and shade. Education matters as much as treatment, because most harm is preventable and owners generally want their animal to stay sound and earning. The most durable model pairs hands-on clinics with training that leaves a community able to keep its donkeys healthy long after a visit ends.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries, and rescue teams across its partner network. For working donkeys, Pakistan is our funded focus: we channel support to vetted in-country partners running mobile veterinary clinics, wound and harness treatment, farrier and dental care, and owner-education sessions at brick kilns and rural communities. Because working-donkey welfare is a global issue, we pair that funded, partner-delivered work in Pakistan with wider public education so supporters everywhere understand load limits, harness fit, and basic donkey care.

## Donation hook
In Pakistan, a working donkey is often a family's entire livelihood — and the difference between a sound animal and a suffering one can be a padded harness, a treated wound, or a single visit from a vet. Your gift funds WARN's local partner teams in Pakistan to deliver exactly that care, right where it is needed.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/working-donkey): Working Donkey — wildlife guide.

## How long do working donkeys live?
A donkey can live 30 to 50 years in good conditions, but working donkeys in low-income regions often have a life expectancy of just 12 to 15 years because of overwork, poor nutrition, untreated injuries, and limited veterinary care.

## What do donkeys eat?
Donkeys are herbivores adapted to dry, marginal land. They thrive on high-fibre, low-sugar forage such as straw, barley straw, and coarse grasses, supplemented with limited grazing and clean water. Rich pasture or grain can actually harm them, causing obesity and laminitis.

## How big is a donkey and how much can it safely carry?
Standard donkeys stand about 90-145 cm at the shoulder and weigh roughly 80-225 kg depending on breed and condition. Welfare guidance is that a donkey should not carry much more than about half its own body weight, yet many working donkeys are loaded far beyond that.

## Are donkeys dangerous or just stubborn?
Donkeys are not generally dangerous and are usually gentle and intelligent. What looks like stubbornness is actually a strong self-preservation instinct: rather than bolt from danger like a horse, a donkey stops to assess the situation, which can read as refusal.

## How many donkeys are there in the world?
There are roughly 50 million donkeys worldwide, most of them in lower-income parts of Asia and Africa. Pakistan alone is home to about 5.9 million, one of the largest national populations and still growing.

## What is a baby donkey called?
A baby donkey is called a foal. A female donkey is a jenny (or jennet) and a male is a jack; a group of donkeys is often called a drove or a herd.

## Where do donkeys live?
Donkeys live in Pakistan. A working donkey is a domesticated donkey (Equus africanus asinus) used to carry loads, pull carts, or turn mills; it descends from the Critically Endangered African wild ass, and while the species itself is not threatened, individual working donkeys in regions such as Pakistan commonly suffer from overloading, ill-fitting harnesses, and limited veterinary access.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/harpy-eagle): Harpy Eagle — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is the largest and most powerful bird of prey in the Americas, a rainforest eagle that hunts tree-dwelling mammals such as sloths and monkeys from the canopy of Central and South America; the IUCN classifies it as Vulnerable.

## Introduction
The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is the largest and most powerful raptor in the Americas, ruling the canopy of tropical lowland rainforests from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. With rear talons up to about 13 cm (5 in) long and a grip capable of crushing the bones of monkeys and sloths, it is an unmistakable apex predator. The IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable with a declining population, driven chiefly by deforestation and hunting.

## Takeaway
The Harpy Eagle is the most powerful raptor in the Americas, with rear talons reaching about 13 cm (5 in) — similar in length to a grizzly bear's claws.

## Takeaway
Females are far larger than males, weighing up to roughly 9 kg versus about 4-6 kg for males.

## Takeaway
It is a canopy ambush hunter, preying mainly on arboreal mammals such as sloths and monkeys.

## Takeaway
Pairs typically raise only one chick every two to three years, making the species slow to recover from losses.

## Takeaway
The IUCN assessed the Harpy Eagle as Vulnerable in 2021, with a decreasing population trend.

## Takeaway
It is listed on CITES Appendix I, the strictest level of international trade protection.

## Why the Harpy Eagle is the rainforest's apex raptor
The Harpy Eagle sits at the very top of the Neotropical rainforest food web. A large female can weigh up to about 9 kg, with hind talons reaching roughly 13 cm — longer than the claws of a grizzly bear — and legs as thick as a person's wrist. Rather than soaring over open country, it threads between trees on broad, rounded wings, using acute eyesight and hearing to detect prey in the canopy before striking with a grip strong enough to crush bone. Its diet is dominated by tree-dwelling mammals, especially sloths and monkeys, with the eagle capable of lifting prey approaching its own body weight.

## Behaviour, breeding and ecology
Harpy Eagles are monogamous and intensely territorial, defending large home ranges of canopy forest. A pair builds a massive stick nest high in an emergent tree, often a kapok, and usually lays two eggs — but typically only one chick survives and is reared. Incubation lasts roughly 53-56 days, and the single eaglet depends on its parents for many months, fledging at around six months and staying near the nest well beyond that. Because a pair raises just one young every two to three years, the species has an exceptionally low reproductive rate, which makes every breeding territory and every adult bird disproportionately important to the population.

## Threats: deforestation and persecution
The Harpy Eagle's decline is driven mainly by the loss and fragmentation of lowland tropical forest, which removes both nesting trees and the arboreal prey the eagle depends on. As large, slow-reproducing predators needing extensive intact forest, Harpy Eagles disappear quickly from logged and cleared landscapes. Direct persecution compounds the problem: because the birds are large, conspicuous and often unafraid of people, they are frequently shot out of curiosity, for trophies, or over fears about livestock. The combination of habitat loss and shooting has driven local extinctions across much of the species' former range in Central America and the southern Amazon.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/harpy-eagle): Harpy Eagle — wildlife guide.

## What rescue and recovery involve
Protecting Harpy Eagles centres on keeping large blocks of rainforest standing, monitoring known nests, and reducing shooting through community education. Injured, orphaned or confiscated birds may pass through rescue and rehabilitation centres, where they receive veterinary care before release or, where release is impossible, contribute to managed breeding and education. Because each pair holds a vast territory and breeds slowly, on-the-ground work tends to focus on safeguarding individual nesting trees, supporting landowners who tolerate eagles, and building local pride in the species as a flagship for the wider forest.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network. The Harpy Eagle's range spans much of tropical Latin America, but within WARN's network it occurs in Brazil and Colombia, where the priority is supporting partner-led forest protection, nest monitoring and the care of injured or confiscated birds. Across the rest of its range, WARN's role is wider awareness and education rather than direct operations, so we are careful to frame our funded focus honestly: practical support where we have partners, and advocacy for the canopy everywhere else.

## Donation hook
Every Harpy Eagle needs a vast stretch of standing rainforest to survive. Your gift helps fund WARN's local partners in Brazil and Colombia to protect canopy habitat and care for rescued birds of prey.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/harpy-eagle): Harpy Eagle — wildlife guide.

## How long do Harpy Eagles live?
Harpy Eagles are generally reported to live around 25-35 years, with similar lifespans in the wild and in well-managed captivity. Their long lives and very slow breeding rate mean populations recover slowly from losses.

## What do Harpy Eagles eat?
They are carnivores that hunt mainly tree-dwelling mammals, especially sloths and monkeys, along with other prey such as opossums, porcupines, iguanas and snakes. They hunt from the canopy and can lift prey approaching their own body weight.

## How big is a Harpy Eagle?
Body length is about 86-107 cm (34-42 in) with a wingspan around 176-224 cm (roughly 2 m). Females are much heavier than males, weighing up to about 9 kg compared with around 4-6 kg for males.

## Are Harpy Eagles dangerous to humans?
Harpy Eagles are powerful predators but do not hunt people and attacks on humans are extremely rare. They will defend a nest if approached, and their main prey is medium-sized mammals in the forest canopy, not humans.

## How many Harpy Eagles are left?
There is no precise global count. The 2021 IUCN assessment estimates the population in the broad range of about 100,000-250,000 mature individuals, but with high uncertainty and a clearly decreasing trend; the species has already vanished from large parts of its former range.

## Why is the Harpy Eagle endangered or threatened?
It is classed as Vulnerable mainly because of rainforest loss and fragmentation, which destroy nesting trees and prey, compounded by shooting and persecution. Its very slow reproduction — usually one chick every two to three years — makes recovery difficult.

## What is a baby Harpy Eagle called?
A young Harpy Eagle is called an eaglet (or nestling/chick while in the nest). Pairs usually lay two eggs but typically raise only a single eaglet.

## Where do harpy eagles live?
Harpy Eagles live in Brazil, Colombia. A Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is the largest and most powerful bird of prey in the Americas, a rainforest eagle that hunts tree-dwelling mammals such as sloths and monkeys from the canopy of Central and South America; the IUCN classifies it as Vulnerable.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/giant-otter): Giant Otter — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the world's longest otter, a fish-eating, highly social mammal of South American rivers that grows up to 1.8 metres long and lives in family groups; it is classified as Endangered by the IUCN.

## Introduction
The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the largest member of the weasel family and a top predator of South America's rivers, reaching up to 1.8 metres from nose to tail. Highly social and vocal, it lives in tight family groups that hunt fish together in the Amazon and Pantanal wetlands. Once hunted to the brink for its dense velvety pelt, it remains Endangered, with fewer than 5,000 thought to survive in fragmented, shrinking populations.

## Takeaway
The giant otter is the longest member of the weasel family (Mustelidae), reaching up to 1.8 m including the tail.

## Takeaway
It is a cooperative, diurnal hunter that catches fish — mainly cichlids, characins and catfish — eating several kilograms a day.

## Takeaway
Family groups of 3–8 share a territory, raise pups together, and communicate with at least nine distinct vocalisations, earning the name 'river wolf'.

## Takeaway
Each animal has a unique cream-coloured throat patch, like a fingerprint, used by researchers to identify individuals.

## Takeaway
Hunting for the international fur trade collapsed populations in the 20th century; CITES banned commercial trade and listed it on Appendix I.

## Takeaway
Today it is Endangered, threatened by habitat loss, gold-mining and mercury pollution of its rivers.

## Why the giant otter is endangered
From the 1940s to the 1970s the giant otter was hunted relentlessly for its thick, water-repellent pelt, and tens of thousands of skins were traded internationally until CITES protection arrived in the 1970s. Populations have never fully recovered. The IUCN, in its 2021 assessment, lists the species as Endangered, with a population suspected to have fallen by more than half over the past three generations. The species is now extinct in Argentina and Uruguay, reduced to a tiny remnant in Paraguay, and fragmented across the Amazon and Orinoco basins. Because giant otters are conspicuous, curious and live in open river systems, they are unusually easy to disturb or extirpate.

## Behaviour and ecology
Giant otters are among the most social of all carnivores. A family is built around a single breeding pair and their offspring from several years, who hunt, patrol and rest together. They are active by day, relying on keen eyesight to chase fish in shallow water, and they haul out onto communal bank dens and latrine sites that scent-mark the group's territory. Their loud, varied calls — snorts, screams, hums and warning barks — coordinate the group and warn of danger, which is why locals call them lobo del río, the river wolf. As apex predators they help keep fish populations and river food webs in balance.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/giant-otter): Giant Otter — wildlife guide.

## Threats today
The fur trade is gone, but newer pressures have taken its place. Deforestation and cattle ranching strip the forested riverbanks otters depend on; dams fragment river systems; and overfishing reduces their prey. The gravest emerging threat is artisanal gold mining, which both destroys habitat and floods rivers with mercury — a toxin that accumulates in the fish otters eat and in the otters themselves. Disturbance from unregulated tourism and conflict with fishers add further pressure to small, isolated groups that cannot easily recover.

## What rescue and protection involve
Protecting giant otters is mostly about protecting living rivers. Effective work combines guarding key wetland strongholds, curbing illegal mining and mercury pollution, restoring riverbank forest, and reducing conflict with fishing communities. Because the animals are wide-ranging and sensitive to disturbance, hands-on rescue is rare and is usually limited to orphaned or injured individuals; the durable gains come from habitat protection and from local teams monitoring family groups and their territories season after season.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network. The giant otter's range falls squarely within two of those countries: Brazil's Amazon and Pantanal and Colombia's Amazon and Orinoco rivers are global strongholds for the species. WARN's funded focus there is to back local partners working on river-habitat protection, anti-mining and anti-pollution efforts, and the care of orphaned or injured wildlife, while supporting wider public education about why these rivers matter. WARN does not run its own field stations; its honest role is to channel donations to the people already doing this work on the ground.

## Donation hook
Brazil and Colombia hold some of the last great strongholds of the giant otter — and your gift helps WARN fund the local partners protecting those Amazon and Pantanal rivers, fish by fish, family by family.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/giant-otter): Giant Otter — wildlife guide.

## How long do giant otters live?
In the wild giant otters typically live around 8 years; in captivity they can reach 17 years or more, with one unconfirmed record near 19.

## What do giant otters eat?
They are carnivores that eat mainly fish — especially cichlids, characins and catfish — and will also take crabs, snakes and occasionally small caimans. An adult eats roughly 3–4 kg of fish a day.

## How big is a giant otter?
It is the longest otter in the world, reaching up to about 1.8 m from nose to tail tip. Males weigh roughly 26–32 kg and females 22–26 kg.

## Are giant otters dangerous to humans?
They generally avoid people, but they are powerful apex predators that defend their group fiercely. Cornered or provoked otters can deliver serious bites, so they should be observed from a distance and never approached.

## How many giant otters are left?
There is no precise global count, but the IUCN estimates fewer than 5,000 wild individuals in fragmented, declining populations, which is why the species is classed as Endangered.

## What is a baby giant otter called?
A baby giant otter is called a pup. Litters usually contain 1–5 pups (about 2 on average) after a gestation of roughly 65–70 days, and the whole family helps raise them.

## Where do giant otters live?
Giant otters live in slow-moving rivers, lakes and wetlands of South America, including the Amazon and Pantanal, in tight family groups of three to eight members. They are the longest otter on Earth at up to 1.8 m nose to tail, classed Endangered with fewer than 5,000 wild individuals. Highly social and vocal, they hunt fish together — mainly cichlids, characins and catfish — in river systems where habitat loss, mining and pollution remain major threats.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/malayan-tapir): Malayan Tapir — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A Malayan tapir is a large, plant-eating mammal native to the rainforests of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. It is the biggest of the five tapir species and the only tapir found in Asia, recognisable by its black-and-white "saddle" coat and short, flexible snout.

## Introduction
The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) is the largest of the world's tapir species and the only one found outside the Americas, surviving in the rainforests of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. Its bold black-and-white pattern looks conspicuous by day but breaks up the animal's outline in moonlit forest. Classed as Endangered by the IUCN, it is squeezed by deforestation, road deaths and snares, with fewer than 2,500 mature individuals thought to remain.

## Takeaway
It is the largest tapir species and the only tapir native to Asia, living in Sumatra (Indonesia) and Peninsular Malaysia.

## Takeaway
Adults typically weigh 250-320 kg and can reach about 540 kg, measuring up to 2.5 m long.

## Takeaway
The bold black-and-white coat is camouflage: it disrupts the body outline in dappled, moonlit forest.

## Takeaway
Calves are born dark reddish-brown with white stripes and spots that fade by about six months of age.

## Takeaway
Tapirs are strong swimmers and can walk along riverbeds, using the snout like a snorkel.

## Takeaway
The IUCN lists it as Endangered with a decreasing trend, driven mainly by habitat loss from palm oil and other plantations, road deaths and snaring.

## What a Malayan tapir is, and why it stands out
The Malayan tapir is a hoofed, herbivorous mammal more closely related to horses and rhinoceroses than to pigs, despite its bulky build. It is the only one of the five living tapir species found in Asia, all the others being native to Central and South America, and it is also the largest, with big individuals approaching 540 kg. Its most famous feature is its colour pattern: black at the front and rear with a large white or pale-grey patch wrapping over the back and flanks. Counter-intuitively, this high-contrast pattern is thought to be camouflage, breaking up the animal's recognisable shape in the broken light of the forest floor at night. A short, mobile snout, formed from the nose and upper lip, is used like a finger to pull leaves and shoots into the mouth.

## Behaviour and ecology
Malayan tapirs are mostly solitary, nocturnal and crepuscular, browsing on the leaves, buds, twigs, fruit and aquatic plants of well over 100 plant species. By feeding across a wide area and depositing seeds in their dung, they act as important seed dispersers and "gardeners" of the rainforest. They are closely tied to water, wallowing to cool down and escape parasites, and are accomplished swimmers that can submerge and walk along the bottom of rivers. Females give birth to a single calf after a gestation of roughly 13 months, one of the longest of any land mammal, and usually breed only once every couple of years, which makes populations slow to recover from losses.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/malayan-tapir): Malayan Tapir — wildlife guide.

## Why it is Endangered
The IUCN classifies the Malayan tapir as Endangered, with fewer than 2,500 mature individuals and a population trend that is decreasing. The core driver is the loss and fragmentation of lowland tropical forest, much of it cleared for oil palm and rubber plantations, logging and other development. As forest is broken into smaller patches, tapirs are forced to cross roads, where vehicle collisions kill animals, and they are caught in snares set for other wildlife. Although they are not the primary target of most hunters, poaching and the wildlife trade add further pressure. Because females reproduce slowly, even modest losses each year can tip local populations into decline.

## What rescue and protection involve
Helping Malayan tapirs centres on keeping forest intact and connected, reducing deaths from roads and snares, and caring for the individuals that are injured, orphaned or displaced. On the ground this means anti-snare patrols, wildlife crossings and signage on roads that cut through tapir habitat, and rescue teams able to respond when a tapir is hit by a vehicle or strays into plantations and villages. Rescued and orphaned animals may need months of veterinary care and rehabilitation before release, and some become long-term residents or breeding animals where release is not safe. Community education matters too, since local goodwill is what keeps tapirs alive in the human-dominated landscapes around protected forest.

## WARN work
Two of the Malayan tapir's two range countries, Indonesia and Malaysia, sit within WARN's funded focus. WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that does not run its own field stations; instead it raises funds for vetted local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network. For a forest species like the tapir, that support is best directed to partners working on wildlife rescue, snare removal and rehabilitation in Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, alongside wider public education about why this Endangered animal and its rainforest matter. WARN is careful not to overstate its role: it funds and amplifies local expertise rather than claiming direct field operations.

## Donation hook
A Malayan tapir lives or dies by the forest around it. By backing WARN's vetted local rescue partners in Indonesia and Malaysia, your gift helps fund the snare patrols, road-safety work and rehabilitation that give this Endangered giant a future in its own rainforest.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/malayan-tapir): Malayan Tapir — wildlife guide.

## How long do Malayan tapirs live?
Malayan tapirs commonly live around 25-30 years, and individuals in captivity have reached their mid-30s.

## What do Malayan tapirs eat?
They are herbivores, browsing on the leaves, buds, twigs, bark, fruit, grasses and aquatic plants of more than 100 plant species. They can eat several percent of their body weight in vegetation each day.

## How big is a Malayan tapir?
It is the largest tapir species. Adults are about 1.8-2.5 m long and 0.9-1.1 m tall at the shoulder, typically weighing 250-320 kg and occasionally reaching around 540 kg.

## Are Malayan tapirs dangerous to humans?
They are shy and generally avoid people, but they are large, powerful animals. A cornered tapir, or a mother protecting a calf, can bite and charge, so they should never be approached in the wild.

## How many Malayan tapirs are left?
The IUCN estimates fewer than 2,500 mature individuals remain in the wild, and the population is decreasing.

## What is a baby Malayan tapir called?
A baby tapir is called a calf. Calves are born dark with white stripes and spots that help them hide, and this pattern fades to the adult black-and-white by about six months of age.

## Where do malayan tapirs live?
Malayan Tapirs live in Indonesia, Malaysia. The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) is the largest of the world's tapir species and the only one found outside the Americas, surviving in the rainforests of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/rhinoceros-hornbill): Rhinoceros Hornbill — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A Rhinoceros Hornbill is a large black-and-white rainforest bird (Buceros rhinoceros) native to Southeast Asia, named for the big curved orange casque above its bill; the IUCN classes it as Vulnerable.

## Introduction
The Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) is a large fruit-eating bird of the lowland and hill rainforests of Southeast Asia, instantly recognised by the curved, upturned casque sweeping back over its bill. It is the state bird of Sarawak and the national bird of Malaysia, yet across Indonesia and Malaysia its forests are shrinking and hunting pressure is rising. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, with a population that is declining.

## Takeaway
The Rhinoceros Hornbill is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN (assessed 2018), uplisted from Near Threatened, with a decreasing population trend.

## Takeaway
Its signature feature is the large keratin casque curving up over the bill; despite its size it is hollow and lightweight.

## Takeaway
It is the state bird of Sarawak and the national bird of Malaysia, and appears in the cultures of many Bornean Indigenous peoples.

## Takeaway
Breeding females seal themselves inside a tree-cavity nest behind a wall of mud and droppings, leaving only a slit through which the male delivers food.

## Takeaway
It is a fruit specialist that prefers figs, making it an important seed disperser across the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia.

## Takeaway
Habitat loss from logging and oil-palm conversion plus hunting for meat and ornaments are driving its decline; it is also shot in confusion with the prized Helmeted Hornbill.

## Why it matters and why it is threatened
The Rhinoceros Hornbill depends on tall, mature rainforest with large trees that contain the natural cavities it needs to breed. As lowland forest across Indonesia and Malaysia is cleared for timber and oil-palm plantations, both food trees and nest sites disappear. The IUCN, which uplisted the species to Vulnerable in 2018, expects a large population reduction over the coming three generations driven by this habitat loss together with hunting. Because hornbills breed slowly and need old-growth trees, populations recover far more slowly than the forest is lost.

## Behaviour and ecology
This is a fruit-loving bird that favours figs but will also take insects, small reptiles, rodents and the eggs or chicks of other birds. By swallowing fruit whole and travelling widely, it spreads seeds across the forest, helping the rainforest regenerate. Its breeding is extraordinary: the pair chooses a tree hollow, and the female walls herself inside using mud, fruit pulp and droppings until only a narrow slit remains. She incubates and broods there for weeks while the male passes food through the gap, a strategy that protects the eggs and chicks from predators.

## Threats in close-up
Beyond forest clearance, the Rhinoceros Hornbill is hunted for its meat, and its casque, skull and tail feathers are taken for decoration and ceremony. A further danger is mistaken identity: poachers targeting the critically endangered Helmeted Hornbill, whose solid casque is carved like ivory, also shoot Rhinoceros Hornbills. Fragmented forests leave the remaining birds easier to find and more exposed, compounding the pressure on a species that already reproduces slowly.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/rhinoceros-hornbill): Rhinoceros Hornbill — wildlife guide.

## What rescue and protection involve
Protecting this hornbill means keeping large tracts of lowland and hill rainforest standing and connected, safeguarding the old trees it nests in, and curbing illegal hunting and trade. On the ground that work looks like forest patrols, nest monitoring and artificial nest boxes, rehabilitation of confiscated or injured birds, and community education so that local people benefit from living forests rather than felled ones. Because the species ranges widely, durable gains come from supporting the local teams who do this day-to-day work.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network. The Rhinoceros Hornbill sits squarely within WARN's funded focus: two of its core countries, Indonesia and Malaysia, hold much of the species' remaining forest. WARN channels donations to in-country partners working on habitat protection, nest and forest monitoring, and care for confiscated or injured wildlife, and supports wider public education about hornbills and the rainforests they depend on. WARN does not run its own field stations; its role is to back the people already doing this work where the bird lives.

## Donation hook
Every gift to WARN helps fund the local partners protecting hornbill forests in Indonesia and Malaysia — keeping the big trees standing so the Rhinoceros Hornbill still has somewhere to nest.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/rhinoceros-hornbill): Rhinoceros Hornbill — wildlife guide.

## How long do Rhinoceros Hornbills live?
They are long-lived birds, reaching around 35 years, with some living longer in captivity.

## What do Rhinoceros Hornbills eat?
Mainly fruit, especially figs, supplemented by insects, small reptiles, rodents, and the eggs or chicks of other birds.

## How big is a Rhinoceros Hornbill?
About 80 to 90 cm (31 to 35 inches) long. Males weigh roughly 2.5 to 3 kg and females about 2 to 2.3 kg.

## Are Rhinoceros Hornbills dangerous to people?
No. They are not aggressive toward humans; the large casque is used for display and to amplify calls, not as a weapon against people.

## How many Rhinoceros Hornbills are left?
There is no reliable global population estimate, but the IUCN reports the population is decreasing and lists the species as Vulnerable.

## Why is the Rhinoceros Hornbill endangered?
Its main threats are rainforest loss to logging and oil-palm plantations and hunting for meat and ornaments; it is also shot in confusion with the Helmeted Hornbill.

## What is the casque on a Rhinoceros Hornbill?
It is the curved, horn-like structure on top of the bill, made of keratin over a hollow, lightweight bony core; it helps amplify the bird's loud honking calls.

## Where do rhinoceros hornbills live?
Rhinoceros Hornbills live in Indonesia, Malaysia. A Rhinoceros Hornbill is a large black-and-white rainforest bird (Buceros rhinoceros) native to Southeast Asia, named for the big curved orange casque above its bill; the IUCN classes it as Vulnerable.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/clouded-leopard): Clouded Leopard — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A clouded leopard is a medium-sized arboreal wild cat native to the forests of Asia, recognised by its cloud-shaped coat patches and famous for having the longest canine teeth relative to body size of any living cat; two species exist, the mainland (Neofelis nebulosa) and Sunda (Neofelis diardi) clouded leopards, both listed as Vulnerable.

## Introduction
The clouded leopard is a mid-sized, tree-dwelling wild cat of Asia's forests, named for the smoky cloud-shaped markings on its coat. Two separate species are now recognised: the mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) of Borneo and Sumatra. Both are assessed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with shrinking, fragmented populations driven down by forest loss and snaring.

## Takeaway
Two distinct species exist: the mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), split into separate species in the mid-2000s based on genetic and pelt differences.

## Takeaway
Relative to body size, clouded leopards have the longest canine teeth of any living cat — around 4 cm (about 2 inches) — earning them the nickname 'modern-day sabre-tooth'.

## Takeaway
They are among the most arboreal of cats: rotating ankle joints let them climb down trees headfirst and even hang from branches by their hind feet.

## Takeaway
Both species are assessed as Vulnerable by the IUCN with decreasing populations; the mainland species is estimated at roughly 3,700–5,580 mature individuals.

## Takeaway
Within WARN's network range, the Sunda clouded leopard occurs in Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra) and Malaysia (Borneo), where oil-palm-driven deforestation is a leading threat.

## Takeaway
Both species are listed on CITES Appendix I, banning commercial international trade, yet illegal hunting for skins, teeth and bones continues.

## Two species, one cloud-patterned cat
For most of the 20th century all clouded leopards were treated as a single species. Genetic and morphological studies in the mid-2000s showed that the island populations of Borneo and Sumatra were distinct enough to be recognised as a separate species, Neofelis diardi, the Sunda clouded leopard, leaving the mainland populations as Neofelis nebulosa. The two look similar but differ in detail: mainland cats tend to have larger, paler cloud markings with fewer interior spots, while Sunda cats are darker with smaller, more densely spotted clouds. The Sunda species is itself divided into two subspecies, the Bornean (N. d. borneensis) and Sumatran (N. d. diardi) clouded leopards, both of which the IUCN has assessed as Endangered even though the species overall is rated Vulnerable.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/clouded-leopard): Clouded Leopard — wildlife guide.

## Built for the canopy
Clouded leopards are arguably the most accomplished tree-climbers among the wild cats. They have short, powerful legs, broad paws and exceptionally flexible ankle joints that can rotate roughly 180 degrees, letting them descend trunks headfirst, run along the undersides of branches and hang by their hind feet. A tail almost as long as the body acts as a balancing pole. Their most striking feature is dental: their upper canines are the longest of any living cat relative to skull and body size, reaching about 4 cm, which has led scientists to compare them loosely to the extinct sabre-toothed cats. They are largely nocturnal and secretive, hunting birds, monkeys, deer, wild pigs and small mammals both in the trees and on the ground.

## Why they are threatened
Both clouded leopard species are in decline, and the IUCN infers a population reduction of more than 30 percent across recent generations for the mainland species. The dominant pressures are habitat loss and fragmentation — Southeast Asia has some of the world's fastest rates of forest clearance, much of it for oil-palm and other plantations — together with hunting. Clouded leopards are killed deliberately for their distinctively patterned skins, teeth and bones, which feed illegal wildlife markets and traditional medicine, and are caught incidentally in the wire snares set across their range for other animals. Because they are elusive and live at low densities, reliable range-wide population counts are difficult, and estimates carry wide uncertainty.

## What rescue and protection involve
Protecting clouded leopards is mostly about protecting forest and stopping snaring rather than hands-on animal rescue, because wild individuals are rarely seen. Practical work in their range includes anti-poaching and snare-removal patrols, camera-trap monitoring to track where cats survive, securing and connecting protected forest blocks, and caring for cubs and adults confiscated from the illegal pet and skin trade. In Indonesia and Malaysia, this depends on locally based ranger teams, wildlife rescue centres and sanctuaries that can respond to seizures and rehabilitate animals where possible.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network. The Sunda clouded leopard's range falls squarely within two of those countries — Indonesia and Malaysia — so this species sits inside WARN's funded focus: supporting partners that run anti-snaring patrols, monitor forests and care for confiscated wildlife on Borneo and Sumatra. The mainland clouded leopard ranges across other Asian countries outside the countries where WARN's partners work, so for those populations WARN's role is education and awareness rather than direct funding, and we are honest about that limit.

## Donation hook
A gift to WARN helps fund the local Indonesian and Malaysian partners working to keep Borneo's and Sumatra's forests standing and snare-free — the difference between a future with the Sunda clouded leopard and one without.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/clouded-leopard): Clouded Leopard — wildlife guide.

## How long do clouded leopards live?
In human care they commonly live to about 11 years, with some individuals reaching around 17. Lifespan in the wild is poorly documented but is generally believed to be shorter.

## What do clouded leopards eat?
They are carnivores that hunt a range of prey including monkeys, deer, wild pigs, porcupines, squirrels, birds and other small to medium mammals, taking prey both in trees and on the ground.

## How big is a clouded leopard?
They are medium-sized cats, weighing roughly 11.5–26 kg (about 25–57 lb) depending on species and sex, with a head-and-body length of about 69–108 cm and a tail nearly as long as the body.

## Are clouded leopards dangerous to humans?
No. Clouded leopards are shy, secretive and largely nocturnal, and there are no records of them being a meaningful danger to people. They avoid humans and are far more threatened by us than we are by them.

## How many clouded leopards are left?
There is no precise count. The mainland clouded leopard is estimated at roughly 3,700–5,580 mature individuals, and the Sunda clouded leopard at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals; both populations are decreasing.

## Why are clouded leopards endangered?
Both species are assessed as Vulnerable, mainly because of rapid deforestation for plantations and logging, deliberate hunting for their skins, teeth and bones, and accidental capture in snares. Island subspecies in Borneo and Sumatra are rated Endangered.

## What is a baby clouded leopard called?
A baby clouded leopard is called a cub. Litters usually contain one to five cubs, most often two or three.

## Where do clouded leopards live?
Clouded leopards live in the forests of Asia. The mainland species (Neofelis nebulosa) ranges across the Himalayas and South-east Asia, while the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) is found on Borneo and Sumatra. Both are tree-dwelling cats of dense forest, assessed as Vulnerable with shrinking, fragmented populations driven by forest loss and snaring.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/humpback-whale): Humpback Whale — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a large filter-feeding baleen whale found in oceans worldwide, known for its long pectoral fins, acrobatic breaching, and the complex songs sung by males during the breeding season.

## Introduction
The humpback whale is a large baleen whale famous for its haunting, hours-long songs, acrobatic breaches and enormous wing-like flippers. Once hunted to near-extinction, most populations are recovering strongly, and each winter thousands gather to breed in warm tropical waters such as Brazil's Abrolhos Bank. Yet entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships still kill humpbacks across their migratory range.

## Takeaway
Globally the humpback whale is listed as Least Concern with an increasing population — a major conservation success after commercial whaling cut numbers by over 90%.

## Takeaway
Despite the healthy global picture, several regional subpopulations (including the Arabian Sea) remain Endangered, so a single status badge can be misleading.

## Takeaway
Only male humpbacks sing the long, structured songs, which evolve over time and spread between populations across an ocean basin.

## Takeaway
Brazil's Abrolhos Bank is the main breeding and calving ground for the Western South Atlantic population, hosting roughly 9,200 whales by a 2019 survey.

## Takeaway
Humpbacks filter-feed on krill and small schooling fish, sometimes using cooperative 'bubble-net' feeding to corral prey.

## Takeaway
The biggest modern threats are entanglement in fishing gear and marine debris, plus collisions with ships (vessel strikes).

## Recovery success, with regional exceptions
Twentieth-century commercial whaling devastated humpback whales, reducing some populations by more than 90 percent before the International Whaling Commission's 1985 moratorium gave them protection. The recovery since has been dramatic: the IUCN reassessed the species as Least Concern in 2018, with a global population trend described as increasing and roughly 84,000 mature individuals. That headline figure hides important variation, however. The IUCN still recognises Endangered subpopulations such as the Arabian Sea humpbacks, and several distinct population segments remain protected as endangered under national law. The species as a whole is rebounding, but specific regional groups are not yet safe.

## Song, breaching and behaviour
Humpbacks are among the most behaviourally striking of all whales. Males produce long, hierarchically structured songs that can last many minutes and repeat for hours, mainly on the breeding grounds; these songs change gradually through a season and can be transmitted from one population to another across vast distances. Above the surface, humpbacks are famous acrobats, hurling their roughly 25-to-30-tonne bodies clear of the water in spectacular breaches and slapping the surface with their long pectoral fins and tail flukes. When feeding, groups may blow curtains of bubbles to herd krill and small fish into dense balls before lunging through them.

## Brazil's Abrolhos breeding ground
Each austral winter, humpbacks of the Western South Atlantic population migrate north from Antarctic feeding waters to breed and calve along the Brazilian coast, with the shallow Abrolhos Bank off Bahia serving as the core nursery. This aggregation was hammered by whaling but has recovered strongly: an aerial survey in 2019 estimated around 9,200 whales using the area, a large share of the total off Brazil. The bank's warm, sheltered waters make it one of the most important humpback breeding sites in the Southern Hemisphere and a focus for whale-watching and marine protection.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/humpback-whale): Humpback Whale — wildlife guide.

## Threats and what rescue involves
The main hazards to humpbacks today are human-made. Whales become entangled in ropes, nets and other fishing gear, which can wound, exhaust or drown them, and they are struck by vessels along busy coastal and shipping routes. Underwater noise and pollution add further pressure. Responding involves trained disentanglement teams who carefully cut gear from live whales, networks that report strikes and strandings, measures to slow or reroute ships in whale hotspots, and gear changes that reduce entanglement risk — all underpinned by monitoring that tracks whether each population is truly recovering.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network. Humpback whales range across every ocean, far beyond any single country, so WARN's role here is twofold: backing partner-led marine work in its funded focus country of Brazil — where the Abrolhos breeding ground makes whale disentanglement, stranding response and coastal protection locally relevant — and using guides like this to raise wider awareness of the entanglement and ship-strike threats humpbacks face throughout their migrations. WARN does not claim to run whale rescue itself; it channels support to the local groups doing the work.

## Donation hook
Humpbacks are recovering, but every entangled whale and ship strike still counts. Your gift helps WARN fund the Brazilian partner teams working along the Abrolhos breeding coast to respond to strandings and keep these waters safe for the next generation of calves.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/humpback-whale): Humpback Whale — wildlife guide.

## How long do humpback whales live?
Humpback whales typically live around 80 to 90 years. Like other large baleen whales they are slow to mature and long-lived, with age often estimated from layers in their earwax plugs.

## What do humpback whales eat?
They are filter feeders that strain small prey through baleen plates, mainly krill and small schooling fish such as herring, anchovies and sand lance. A humpback can eat well over a tonne of food a day during the feeding season.

## How big do humpback whales get?
Adults reach roughly 14 to 16 metres long and can weigh around 25 to 30 tonnes, with females growing slightly larger than males. Their pectoral fins are the longest of any whale, up to about a third of the body length.

## Are humpback whales dangerous to humans?
No. Humpbacks are not aggressive toward people and feed on tiny prey, not humans. They are powerful wild animals, though, so boats and swimmers should keep a respectful distance to avoid injury from their huge fins and flukes.

## How many humpback whales are left?
The IUCN's 2018 assessment estimated about 84,000 mature humpback whales worldwide, with the population increasing overall. Even so, several regional subpopulations, such as the Arabian Sea group, remain Endangered.

## Why were humpback whales endangered?
Commercial whaling in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries cut humpback numbers by more than 90 percent in many regions. They have recovered strongly since the 1985 whaling moratorium, but entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes remain serious threats.

## What is a baby humpback whale called?
A baby humpback whale is called a calf. A mother gives birth to a single calf after about an 11-month pregnancy and nurses it on rich milk for up to a year.

## Where do humpback whales live?
Humpback Whales live in Brazil. A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a large filter-feeding baleen whale found in oceans worldwide, known for its long pectoral fins, acrobatic breaching, and the complex songs sung by males during the breeding season.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/golden-lion-tamarin): Golden Lion Tamarin — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) is a small, endangered New World monkey with a bright reddish-gold coat and a lion-like mane, native only to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil.

## Introduction
The golden lion tamarin is a small, vividly orange monkey found only in the lowland Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Once down to fewer than 200 wild animals in the 1960s, it has become a global symbol of conservation recovery, rebounding to roughly 4,800 individuals. It remains Endangered, hemmed into scattered forest fragments that conservationists are stitching back together with replanted corridors.

## Takeaway
Endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and found nowhere else in the wild.

## Takeaway
Classified Endangered by the IUCN, down-listed from Critically Endangered in 2003 after decades of recovery work.

## Takeaway
Wild numbers rose from fewer than 200 in the 1960s to roughly 4,800 by the 2023 census.

## Takeaway
Listed on CITES Appendix I, banning commercial international trade.

## Takeaway
Lives in close family groups of 2–8 and almost always gives birth to twins, with fathers and older siblings helping carry the young.

## Takeaway
A 2017 yellow-fever outbreak killed about a third of the wild population, and habitat fragmentation remains its biggest long-term threat.

## Why it is endangered
The golden lion tamarin's entire natural range sits inside the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, one of the most heavily cleared biomes on Earth. Centuries of logging, charcoal production, agriculture, cattle ranching and urban expansion have left only around 2% of the original forest, broken into small, isolated islands of mostly second-growth vegetation. Because the species depends on continuous tree canopy, these fragments trap small populations that cannot mix, raising the risk of inbreeding and local extinction. The IUCN lists the tamarin as Endangered under criterion B1ab(iii), reflecting a tiny and fragmented range rather than a free-falling population.

## Behaviour and ecology
Golden lion tamarins are diurnal, arboreal and squirrel-like, leaping and bounding through the mid-canopy in search of food. They are omnivores, eating fruit, flowers, nectar, plant gums, insects, spiders, snails, small lizards and bird eggs, and they use their long, slender fingers to probe bark crevices and bromeliads for hidden prey. They live in cohesive family groups of two to eight, usually built around a single breeding pair. Twins are the norm, and infant care is shared: fathers and older offspring carry the babies on their backs, returning them to the mother only to nurse. Groups sleep in tree holes and defend a home range of roughly 0.4 to 1 square kilometre with scent marks and calls.

## Threats and the comeback
The story of this species is unusually hopeful. Coordinated zoo breeding, reintroduction of captive-born animals, translocation of isolated groups and large-scale forest restoration lifted wild numbers from fewer than 200 to several thousand, and earned the 2003 down-listing from Critically Endangered to Endangered. But the recovery is fragile. In 2017 a yellow-fever epidemic swept through and killed roughly a third of the wild population, prompting an emergency vaccination effort. Ongoing fragmentation, road deaths, illegal capture for the pet trade and disease outbreaks mean the species still cannot survive without active management.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/golden-lion-tamarin): Golden Lion Tamarin — wildlife guide.

## What rescue and recovery involve
Saving the golden lion tamarin is as much about forests as about monkeys. The central strategy is connectivity: replanting native trees to build corridors that link isolated forest patches so separated family groups can meet, breed and recolonise. Other work includes monitoring and health screening of wild groups, vaccinating against yellow fever, rescuing and rehabilitating animals caught in the pet trade or stranded by clearance, and supporting the captive-breeding insurance population. All of it relies on Brazilian field teams, landowners and local communities choosing to protect and restore the forest the tamarin needs.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams across its partner network. The golden lion tamarin lives only in Brazil, squarely within WARN's funded focus, so donations here are channelled to Brazilian partners working on forest restoration, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, and community-led habitat protection in and around the Atlantic Forest. Beyond that funded focus, WARN's wider role is search and education: helping people understand why this endemic monkey survives only where its forest is connected and protected.

## Donation hook
Every gift helps fund the Brazilian field partners replanting the forest corridors that let isolated golden lion tamarin families find each other again — turning fragmented habitat back into a living forest.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/golden-lion-tamarin): Golden Lion Tamarin — wildlife guide.

## How long do golden lion tamarins live?
They typically live about 8 years in the wild, though many die in their first year. In human care they can reach 15 to 20 years or more.

## What do golden lion tamarins eat?
They are omnivores, feeding on fruit, flowers, nectar and plant gums alongside insects, spiders, snails, small lizards and bird eggs.

## How big is a golden lion tamarin?
They are small monkeys, weighing about 482–680 grams, with a head-and-body length of roughly 20–25 cm and a tail of about 26–40 cm.

## Are golden lion tamarins dangerous?
No. They are tiny, shy forest monkeys that pose no threat to people, though like all wild animals they can bite if handled and should never be kept as pets.

## How many golden lion tamarins are left?
The most recent census put the wild population at roughly 4,800, up from fewer than 200 in the 1960s. They remain Endangered.

## What is a baby golden lion tamarin called?
A young tamarin is called an infant, and females almost always give birth to twins after a gestation of about four and a half months.

## Where do golden lion tamarins live?
Golden Lion Tamarins live in Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. A golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) is a small, endangered New World monkey with a bright reddish-gold coat and a lion-like mane, native only to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/golden-snub-nosed-monkey): Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Endangered Old World monkey of central China's mountain forests, famous for its golden fur, pale blue face and upturned nose; it lives in large social groups and is protected under CITES Appendix I.

## Introduction
The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is a large Old World monkey found only in the high mountain forests of central China, where it is adapted to winters far colder than most primates tolerate. Named for its stumpy, upturned nose and thick golden coat, it lives in enormous multilevel societies of up to 200 individuals that split into smaller foraging bands by day. The IUCN lists it as Endangered: logging, road building and climate shifts continue to shrink the temperate forest it needs. It is one of five snub-nosed monkey species — all restricted to China and neighbouring countries — and a flagship for Asian primate conservation.

## Takeaway
Found only in mountain forests of central China — Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and Hubei provinces.

## Takeaway
One of five snub-nosed monkey species, all in East Asia and among the world's rarest primates.

## Takeaway
Lives in large groups that fission into smaller foraging units during the day.

## Takeaway
Thick golden fur and a stumpy nose are adaptations to cold, high-elevation winters.

## Takeaway
Endangered mainly from habitat loss, forest fragmentation and disturbance from tourism and infrastructure.

## Takeaway
Listed on CITES Appendix I — not a pet; wild populations need connected montane forest.

## What is a golden snub-nosed monkey?
Golden snub-nosed monkeys belong to the genus Rhinopithecus — the snub-nosed or golden monkeys — a group of large colobine monkeys restricted to the mountains of China and northern Vietnam. Rhinopithecus roxellana is the golden snub-nosed species: adults carry long, shaggy golden pelage, a pale blue-grey face and a distinctive short, forward-tilting nose that reduces frostbite risk in freezing air.

Males are heavier than females, with larger canines and brighter facial skin in the breeding season. Unlike many tropical monkeys, this species ranges above 1,500 metres and encounters snow for several months each year — one of the few primates adapted to temperate montane forest.

Searchers often confuse it with the golden monkey of Rwanda (Cercopithecus kandti) or the golden lion tamarin of Brazil — entirely different species on other continents. This page covers Rhinopithecus roxellana only.

## Social life in the mountains
Golden snub-nosed monkeys form some of the largest primate societies on Earth. A single band may contain 200 or more individuals organised into several one-male units — a dominant male with several females and young — that travel and forage together within a wider 'band' structure.

By day the band splits into smaller subgroups to feed; at night troops reunite and sleep huddled on branches for warmth. Vocal duets and loud chorus calls carry across valleys, helping separated units stay in contact in misty forest.

Alloparenting is common: females other than the mother carry and groom infants, strengthening alliances within the one-male unit. Long childhoods and slow reproduction mean population recovery after disturbance takes decades.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/golden-snub-nosed-monkey): Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey — wildlife guide.

## Diet and cold-forest ecology
Golden snub-nosed monkeys are mainly folivorous — they eat lichens, bark, leaves, buds, seeds and fruit depending on season. Lichens and bark become critical in winter when fresh leaves are scarce, which is why intact old-growth forest with diverse epiphytes matters.

They travel through mixed conifer-broadleaf forest, moving between lower valleys in harsh weather and higher slopes in summer. Long limbs and a tail used for balance let them cross gaps between trees on steep terrain.

Because they depend on specific montane plants, even modest logging or bamboo harvesting can remove food sources for entire bands. Climate change may shift tree lines and fruiting patterns faster than the monkeys can adapt.

## Threats and conservation
The IUCN lists the golden snub-nosed monkey as Endangered with a decreasing population trend. Habitat loss from logging, agriculture, hydropower dams and road construction fragments mountain forest into patches too small for large bands. Tourism that feeds or harasses monkeys for photographs disrupts natural foraging and spreads disease.

China has established reserves such as Shennongjia and Zhouzhi where populations are monitored and protected, and captive breeding programmes support research — but wild habitat connectivity remains the bottleneck. All Rhinopithecus species are on CITES Appendix I.

Snub-nosed monkeys illustrate a wider Asian primate crisis: the black, grey, Tonkin and Myanmar snub-nosed species are even rarer, several Critically Endangered.

## Related WARN monkey guides
This page covers the golden snub-nosed monkey in depth. For the wider monkey family read WARN's monkey hub and species library — capuchin, macaque, proboscis monkey, golden lion tamarin and more.

Great apes — chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan — have separate flagship guides. Slow lorises and lemurs belong to different primate branches with their own WARN pages.

Supporting habitat protection and anti-trafficking work helps every primate threatened by forest loss and the illegal pet trade.

## WARN work
WARN publishes this golden snub-nosed monkey guide as free public education. China lies outside the countries where WARN's partners work partner countries, but the threats here — deforestation, fragmentation and illegal wildlife trade — mirror those facing primates in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil. Understanding why montane forest connectivity matters helps build support for habitat work everywhere.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand one of Asia's most extraordinary primates, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and anti-trafficking education for primates worldwide.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/golden-snub-nosed-monkey): Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey — wildlife guide.

## Why is it called a snub-nosed monkey?
The nose is short, flat and upturned — unlike the long muzzle of macaques or baboons. In freezing mountain air, a smaller nasal surface may reduce heat loss and frostbite risk, though the exact adaptive story is still studied.

## Where do golden snub-nosed monkeys live?
Only in temperate mountain forests of central China — mainly Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and Hubei provinces — between roughly 1,500 and 3,400 metres elevation.

## How many golden snub-nosed monkeys are left?
The IUCN estimated about 15,000 mature individuals in its 2015 assessment, with a decreasing trend. Numbers vary by reserve; some protected areas hold stable bands while logged forest elsewhere loses groups.

## Are golden snub-nosed monkeys endangered?
Yes. The IUCN lists Rhinopithecus roxellana as Endangered, threatened mainly by habitat loss, fragmentation and human disturbance rather than widespread hunting today.

## Can you keep a golden snub-nosed monkey as a pet?
No. They are CITES Appendix I listed, need large social groups and specialist montane diets, and are protected under Chinese law. The illegal pet trade threatens many Asian primates — they belong in wild forest.

## What is the difference between a golden snub-nosed monkey and a golden monkey?
The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) lives in China. The 'golden monkey' of Rwanda and Uganda (Cercopithecus kandti) is a different species in a different genus and continent entirely.

## What do golden snub-nosed monkeys eat?
Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys eat Mainly leaves, lichens, bark, seeds and seasonal fruit. The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Endangered Old World monkey of central China's mountain forests, famous for its golden fur, pale blue face and upturned nose; it lives in large social groups and is protected under CITES Appendix I.

## How long do golden snub-nosed monkeys live?
A precise wild lifespan for golden snub-nosed monkeys is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Endangered Old World monkey of central China's mountain forests, famous for its golden fur, pale blue face and upturned nose; it lives in large social groups and is protected under CITES Appendix I. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a golden snub-nosed monkey?
A Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey is about Up to 200 in a band; smaller foraging units by day. The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Endangered Old World monkey of central China's mountain forests, famous for its golden fur, pale blue face and upturned nose; it lives in large social groups and is protected under CITES Appendix I. Conservation status: Endangered.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/anaconda): Green Anaconda — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is a large, non-venomous, semi-aquatic constrictor snake from tropical South America that is the heaviest snake in the world, killing prey by coiling and squeezing rather than biting.

## Introduction
The Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is the world's heaviest snake and one of its longest, a non-venomous constrictor that haunts the slow rivers, swamps and seasonally flooded grasslands of tropical South America. Females dwarf males, reaching lengths over 5 metres and weights near 100 kilograms. In 2024 scientists confirmed that what was long called the green anaconda is in fact two species, reshaping how we count and protect these giants.

## Takeaway
The Green Anaconda is the heaviest known snake, with verified females weighing close to 100 kg and exceeding 5 metres in length.

## Takeaway
It is non-venomous and kills by constriction, suffocating prey such as capybara, caimans, deer and large birds before swallowing them whole.

## Takeaway
Females are far larger than males, a striking case of reverse sexual size dimorphism among snakes.

## Takeaway
Anacondas give birth to live young in water (they are ovoviviparous), producing roughly 20 to 40 babies per litter, occasionally many more.

## Takeaway
In 2024 the northern green anaconda was described as a separate species, Eunectes akayima, meaning much of the former range is now taxonomically split.

## Takeaway
The species is listed as Least Concern by IUCN but is traded under CITES Appendix II because of demand for skins and the exotic pet trade.

## Behaviour and ecology
Green Anacondas are ambush predators built for water. Their eyes and nostrils sit on top of the head, letting them lie almost fully submerged while watching for prey. Despite their bulk they move sluggishly on land but swim with ease, using the buoyancy of water to support their enormous mass. They are apex predators across their wetland range, taking fish, birds, mammals, caimans and capybara, and they may go weeks between meals after a large kill. Solitary for most of the year, they congregate only to breed, when several smaller males may court a single giant female in a so-called breeding ball. Females then carry developing young internally for six to seven months and give birth to live offspring in the water, each newborn already 70 to 80 cm long and entirely independent.

## A giant recently split into two species
For centuries the green anaconda was treated as a single wide-ranging species. In February 2024 a team of researchers used genetic analysis to show that anacondas north of the Andes and Amazon differ from southern populations by about 5.5 percent in their DNA, having diverged nearly 10 million years ago. They named the northern lineage the Northern Green Anaconda, Eunectes akayima, leaving Eunectes murinus as the Southern Green Anaconda found across the Amazon and adjoining basins. This matters for conservation: a species once assumed to be abundant everywhere is now two separate entities, and the northern one has yet to receive its own formal Red List assessment, leaving real gaps in what we know about its numbers and threats.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/anaconda): Green Anaconda — wildlife guide.

## Threats and the skin and pet trade
Although the Green Anaconda has a vast range and is not currently considered globally threatened, it faces mounting pressure. Wetlands are drained and degraded for agriculture, cattle ranching and infrastructure, fragmenting the slow waters anacondas depend on. The animals are killed out of fear, hunted for their large patterned skins, and captured live for the international exotic pet trade, which is why all anacondas are listed on CITES Appendix II to keep commercial trade monitored. Pollution and the loss of prey species add further strain. Because reliable population counts do not exist for most of the range, local declines can go unnoticed until they are severe.

## What rescue and protection involve
Protecting Green Anacondas is less about captive rescue and more about keeping their wetlands intact and reducing needless killing. On-the-ground work in range countries includes safely relocating snakes that wander into farms and villages, intercepting animals destined for the illegal skin and pet trade, monitoring populations so declines are caught early, and teaching communities that a healthy anaconda population signals a healthy wetland. Because the species spans many countries and has just been split in two, sound field data and local stewardship are now more valuable than ever.

## WARN work
WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation that funds local partner shelters, sanctuaries and rescue teams rather than running its own field stations. Its funded focus sits across a network of partner countries, two of which, Brazil and Colombia, fall squarely within the Green Anaconda's range. There, supporting partners means backing the people who relocate anacondas safely away from conflict, help curb the illegal skin and pet trade, and protect the flooded forests and wetlands these giants need. Across the wider South American range that lies outside WARN's funded countries, its role is education and awareness rather than direct operations — an honest division WARN is careful not to overstate.

## Donation hook
Anacondas survive only where their wetlands do. By backing WARN's local partners in Brazil and Colombia, your gift helps the people who keep these flooded forests intact and these giants safe from the skin and pet trade.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/anaconda): Green Anaconda — wildlife guide.

## How long do Green Anacondas live?
In the wild Green Anacondas typically live around 10 years, but in captivity they can reach 30 years or more, with the oldest recorded individual living over 37 years.

## What do Green Anacondas eat?
They are carnivorous constrictors that eat fish, birds, mammals and reptiles. Large adults take big prey such as capybara, deer, caimans and large birds, killing by constriction and swallowing the animal whole.

## How big do Green Anacondas get?
Green Anacondas are the heaviest snakes on Earth. Females, which are much larger than males, commonly exceed 5 metres and can weigh close to 100 kg; males average around 3 metres.

## Are Green Anacondas dangerous to humans?
Green Anacondas are non-venomous and attacks on people are extremely rare. They are powerful constrictors, so very large individuals could pose a risk, but they generally avoid humans and are not a common danger.

## How many Green Anacondas are left in the wild?
There is no reliable global population estimate. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern because of its very large range, but actual numbers are unknown, and the 2024 split into two species adds further uncertainty.

## What is a baby Green Anaconda called?
A baby anaconda is called a neonate or simply a snakelet. Born live in water, each newborn is already about 70 to 80 cm long and fends for itself immediately with no parental care.

## Where do Green Anacondas live?
Green anacondas haunt the slow rivers, swamps and seasonally flooded grasslands of tropical South America. They are semi-aquatic ambush predators: eyes and nostrils sit on top of the head so they can lie almost fully submerged while watching for prey. Wetland drainage for agriculture and cattle ranching is a growing threat across their range.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/himalayan-brown-bear): Himalayan Brown Bear — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) is a high-altitude subspecies of brown bear native to the western Himalayas of Pakistan, India and Nepal, recognisable by its sandy to reddish-brown coat and considered Critically Endangered within Pakistan even though the wider brown bear species is listed as Least Concern globally.

## Introduction
The Himalayan brown bear is a pale, reddish-coated subspecies of brown bear that survives on the high-altitude meadows and cold deserts of the western Himalayas. In Pakistan it clings to a handful of fragmented mountain pockets, with its last real stronghold on the Deosai Plateau. Once widespread, it now occupies only a fraction of its former range and is treated as Critically Endangered within Pakistan.

## Takeaway
It is a subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus), described by Horsfield in 1826, adapted to cold, treeless high mountains.

## Takeaway
Pakistan's population is tiny and fragmented, with its main refuge on the Deosai Plateau in Gilgit-Baltistan.

## Takeaway
The whole brown bear species is Least Concern globally (~110,000 animals), but the Himalayan subspecies in Pakistan is regarded as Critically Endangered.

## Takeaway
Major threats are poaching for body parts, the illegal capture of cubs as pets and for 'dancing bear' use, retaliatory killing over livestock, and habitat loss.

## Takeaway
Like all brown bears it hibernates through the harsh winter, typically denning from roughly October until April or May.

## Takeaway
It is an omnivore, eating grasses, roots, insects, marmots and other small mammals, and occasionally livestock.

## Why it is endangered in Pakistan
Although brown bears as a species are abundant across the northern hemisphere, the Himalayan brown bear sits at the southern, most fragile edge of that range. In Pakistan it is reduced to small, isolated subpopulations scattered across Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral and adjoining ranges, with the Deosai Plateau holding the most viable group. Low numbers, slow reproduction and the physical isolation of mountain valleys mean each pocket is vulnerable to local extinction. National assessments in Pakistan therefore treat the bear as Critically Endangered, a far harsher rating than the species' global Least Concern status, because the figures that matter here are the few hundred animals left inside the country, not the worldwide total.

## Behaviour and ecology
This is a creature of extremes, living higher than almost any other bear, on alpine meadows, scree slopes and cold high-altitude desert between roughly 3,000 and 5,500 metres. It is a generalist omnivore, grazing on grasses and roots, digging out marmots and other burrowing rodents, raiding insect colonies, and taking carrion or livestock when the chance arises. To survive brutal winters it hibernates in dens for several months, usually emerging in spring lean and hungry. Cubs are born during the winter den period, tiny and helpless, and stay with their mother for two years or more, which keeps population growth slow and recovery from losses painfully gradual.