Tropical forests · South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Africa, Southern Africa and South America
Rainforest Animals
Rainforest animals span great apes, big cats, parrots, pangolins and primates across tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Africa, Southern Africa and South America. Habitat loss, snaring and the illegal pet trade threaten most species on this hub — each links to a full WARN guide and rescue context.
- 50%+
- Estimated share of terrestrial species that depend on tropical forestsSource: IUCN / UN FAO forest assessments
- 80%
- Approximate orangutan habitat lost in Borneo over recent decades (IUCN assessments)
- 1M+
- Pangolins estimated taken from the wild in the past decadeSource: IUCN
Quick answers
- Why are orangutans endangered? All three orangutan species are Critically Endangered, mainly because of palm-oil-driven deforestation, illegal logging and the pet trade, which kills mothers to capture infants.
- How does palm oil affect orangutans? Large-scale palm oil plantations replace lowland rainforest — orangutans’ primary habitat. Fragmentation isolates populations and increases conflict when starving animals enter farms.
- Are pangolins endangered? Yes. All eight pangolin species are protected under CITES Appendix I, and most are listed from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Pangolins are widely reported as the most trafficked mammal.
- What is a biome? A biome is a large-scale ecological zone defined by climate, vegetation and typical species — such as tropical rainforest, savanna, desert or tundra. Animals evolve adaptations suited to their biome.
Rainforest species guides
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Critically Endangered
Orangutan
Orangutans are Critically Endangered great apes found only in Borneo and Sumatra; all three species — Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli — face extinction driven mainly by habitat loss from palm oil and logging, plus the illegal pet trade.
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Not Evaluated
Pangolin
Pangolins are the world's most heavily trafficked wild mammals; all eight species are threatened by illegal trade in their keratin scales, used in traditional medicine across Asia, with the Chinese and Sunda pangolins now Critically Endangered.
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Not Evaluated
Slow Loris
Slow lorises are small nocturnal primates from South and Southeast Asia; every species is threatened with extinction — ranging from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered — largely because of the illegal pet trade, which is fuelled in part by viral social media videos.
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Critically Endangered
Gorilla
A gorilla is the largest living primate, a ground-dwelling, mostly plant-eating great ape native to the forests of equatorial Africa. There are two Critically Endangered species — the Western and Eastern gorilla — and gorillas share roughly 98% of their DNA with humans.
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Endangered
Tiger
A tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species, a striped, solitary carnivore native to Asia; the Sumatran tiger of Indonesia and the Malayan tiger of Malaysia are two of the most endangered surviving populations, both listed as Critically Endangered.
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Near Threatened
Jaguar
A jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large spotted big cat native to the Americas — the largest cat on the continent and the third-largest in the world — known for the strongest bite of any big cat and a habit of killing prey by piercing the skull.
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Vulnerable
Harpy Eagle
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.
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Not Evaluated
Macaw
Macaws are large, long-tailed tropical parrots native to Central and South America; status varies by species, with several — including the blue-throated and Spix's macaws — Critically Endangered or Extinct in the Wild due to the illegal pet trade and deforestation.
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Not Evaluated
Parrot
Parrots are tropical and subtropical Psittaciformes — about 400 species including macaws, cockatoos and budgerigars — known for intelligence and longevity; many are threatened by habitat loss and illegal trade, with status ranging from Least Concern to Critically Endangered.
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Vulnerable
Sun Bear
Sun bears are the world's smallest bears, native to Southeast Asia, and are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN; they are threatened by deforestation, the pet trade, and the bear bile industry, in which bears are caged for years and milked for bile used in traditional medicine.
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Not Evaluated
Tapir
Tapirs are four threatened species of forest herbivore in Asia and the Americas — all Endangered or Vulnerable — serving as seed dispersers; WARN covers the Malayan tapir in detail.
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Not Evaluated
Sloth
A sloth is a slow-moving, leaf-eating mammal that lives hanging upside down in the trees of Central and South American rainforests. There are six living species in two groups, the three-toed sloths (Bradypus) and two-toed sloths (Choloepus), and they are the slowest mammals on Earth.
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Endangered
Chimpanzee
A chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is a great ape from the forests and woodlands of equatorial Africa. Along with the bonobo, it is humans' closest living relative, sharing roughly 98-99% of our DNA. Famous for tool use, complex societies and culture, it is classified as Endangered.
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Least Concern
Kinkajou
The kinkajou (Potos flavus) is a nocturnal Central and South American rainforest mammal in the raccoon family, one of only two carnivorans with a fully prehensile tail, feeding mainly on fruit and nectar and acting as an incidental pollinator.
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Not Evaluated
Lemur
A lemur is a primate native only to Madagascar and nearby islands, forming the group Lemuriformes. More than 100 species exist, from tiny mouse lemurs to the familiar ring-tailed lemur. Most are tree-dwelling, and lemurs are the most endangered mammal group on Earth.
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Not Evaluated
Rhino
Rhinoceroses are five living species of horned megaherbivores in Africa and Asia; all are threatened by poaching for keratin horn, with three species Critically Endangered including the Sumatran rhino with fewer than 50 individuals.
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Endangered
Elephant
Asian elephants are Endangered; their main threats are habitat loss and human-elephant conflict, while African elephants also face poaching for the illegal ivory trade.
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Vulnerable
Clouded Leopard
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.
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Endangered
Proboscis Monkey
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.
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Not Evaluated
Gibbon
Gibbons are tailless lesser apes of South-east Asian rainforest, brachiating through the canopy in monogamous family groups; most species are Endangered or Critically Endangered due to habitat loss and the illegal pet trade.