Name: Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)
Status: Endangered
Region: They are found from the temperate Himalayan forests of western Nepal to the high mountain slopes of southwestern China.
Introduction: Red panda called Habre in Nepali got its name from "Poonya" which means bamboo eater. Their weight varies from 3 to 6 kg. The red panda has been classified as endangered by the IUCN, because its wild population is estimated at less than 10,000 mature individuals and continues to decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression, although red pandas are protected by national laws in their range countries
History: The red panda is considered a living fossil and only distantly related to the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), as it is naturally more closely related to the other members of the superfamily Musteloidea to which it belongs.
Threats: Increase in the population and deforestation has resulted in to the loss of habitat of Red Panda . Red panda's bamboo forest homes cut down and cleared for timber, fuel and agriculture land, pushing them to more remote, fragmented and often unprotected mountain areas.Protecting the red panda and its fragile environment is vital to preserving the region's natural heritage and global biodiversity.
Protection: Red panda has been protected in Nepal through government of Nepal, WWF as well as local communities. Protecting the endangered species by WWF includes conducting in-depth field studies on red panda ecology, behavior, habitat and distribution range to improve effective conservation, identifying potential red panda habitats suitable for protection, developing a broad-based awareness programme on red pandas to make local communities more aware about the importance of the species within the mountain ecosystem.Red Panda is protected in Nepal at Langtang National Park, Annapurna Conservation Area, Sagarmatha National Park, Manaslu Conservation Area, Makalu Barun National Park andKangchenjunga Conservation Area. China has 35 protected areas, covering about 42.4% of red panda habitat. India has 20 protected areas with known or possible red panda populations in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal such as Khangchendzonga, Namdapha and Singalila National Parks, and a coordinated conservation policy for the red panda.
Reference:
http://www.wwfnepal.org/what_we_do/wildlife/red_panda/
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/714/0 Photo: WWFNepal / Kamal Thapa

Name: Barbary Sheep (Ammotragus lervia)
Status: Vulnerable
Region: Algeria; Chad; Egypt; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Sudan; Tunisia, Introduced: Mexico; Spain; United States They are found in arid mountainous areas where they graze and browse grasses, bushes and lichens.
Introduction: The barbary sheep is a light reddish brown short, bristly outer coat about 80 to 100 cm tall and 40 to 140 kg weight. They have vertical fringe of hair that goes from the throat down to the upper part of the front legs.Their horns have a triangular cross section which are v-shaped curving backward. They have the life span of 15 years.
Threat: Barbary Sheep has been threaten due to its poaching and habitat destruction due to factors like rapid population growth, livestock grazing, wood collection, drought and desertification. It is a vulnerable species according to IUCN.
Reference:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/1151/0
http://wildlife-facts.weebly.com/barbary-sheep

Name: Southwestern water vole (Arvicola amphibious)
Status: Vulnerable
Region: France and south-westwards through Spain and Portugal The water vole is almost always found near to water, preferring small (under 8 ha) freshwater lakes, ponds and slow-moving rivers and streams with dense riparian vegetation. It sometimes occurs in drainage ditches and wet fields. Abundant hydrophilic vegetation and shorelines suitable for water vole burrowing activity seem to be essential characteristics of water vole habitat.
Introduction: Water voles are the largest species of vole in Britain. Their tail length is half the length of the body and it is a dark, slightly furry. Water voles have glossy brown or black fur and a blunt muzzle with small, black eyes. Their ears are rounded. They are mostly active during the day, sitting on their hind feet and feeding on grass stalks held in their front paws. If they are disturbed, they dive into the water with a characteristic ‘plop’ sound. Water voles live in colonies but string themselves out along a watercourse
History: Water voles have undergone one of the most serious declines of any wild mammal in Britain during the 20th century. The intensification of agriculture in the 1940s and 1950s caused the loss and degradation of habitat, but the most rapid period of decline was during the 1980s and 1990s as American mink spread. Between 1989 and 1998, the population fell by almost 90 percent.
Threat: Habitat loss and destruction is the major threat to the the water vole. Competition for habitat and food sources with the Muskrat and Coypu, Habitat modification, including draining of suitable wetlands, dredging, canal-building, disturbance by human activity and livestock, etc., drastic variations in water level caused by dams or seasonal droughts, along with the increasing pollution due to industrialization are the major threats. Reference: https://ptes.org/get-informed/facts-figures/water-vole/
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2150/0

Name: Marbled polecat ( (Vormela peregusna)
Status: Vulnerable Region: Afghanistan; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bulgaria; China; Georgia; Greece; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Kazakhstan; Lebanon; Macedonia, the Republic of; Mongolia; Montenegro; Pakistan; Romania; Russian Federation; Serbia; Syrian Arab Republic; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan Marbled Polecats can be found in steppes and dry open areas of south eastern Europe and Asia.
Introduction: Marbled Polecats are black with pale markings. They have a body length between 33 and 35 cms and weight 700gm. They have a black and white face mask. Marbled polecats are most active during the morning and evening.
Threats: Poaching and habitat destruction has been a major threat to the marbled polecat. The major threat to Marbled Polecat is the loss of natural steppe and desert habitats. Steppe habitats are declining in Europe through conversion to cultivated farmland. Secondary poisoning by rodenticides might also be a threat, as are likely to be population declines in key prey species. Reference:
http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/carnivores/polecat_marbled.html
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/29680/0
https://www.arkive.org/european-marbled-polecat/vormela-peregusna/


Name: Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
Status: Endangered
Region: The sei whale can be found around the outer continental shelf and slope in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean.
Introduction: Sei whale the third-largest after the blue whale and the fin whale. Theyreach a length up to 60 feet and a weight of 100,000 pounds . This species is primarily gray with oval shaped white scars due to bites from cigar sharks and lampreys (fish). They have a pointed snout, short pectoral fins, and a dorsal fin that is erect and found at the end of the back. Sei whales can blow water straight up out of their blow hole to a height up to 13 feet. Sei whales are classified as baleen whales – they filter water for food through baleen plates.
Threats: Sei whale population has been seriously depleted due to human capture and harvesting. Sei whale was exploited in the southern hemisphere and the North Pacific from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s. Industrialization, population growth and pollution have also resulted in depletion in the number of sei whale.
Reference:
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sei-whale
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2475/0
http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/imperiled/profiles/mammals/sei-whale/

Name: Greater One - Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)
Status: Vulnerable
Region: Nepal, India They are alluvial flood-plain vegetation of sub-tropical climates where water and green grass is available all year.
Introduction: The greater one horned rhino is the largest rhino species and second largest after elephant in mammals. The Indian rhinoceros has a thick grey-brown skin with pinkish skin folds and a black horn. An adult rhino usually weighs between 2-2.5 metric tonnes. Rhinos usually lead a solitary life, but they may also graze and wallow together. Calves follow their mothers for 1-3 years. Females are sexually mature between 5 and 7 years old, while males mature at about 10 years of age.
Threat: Greater One - Horned Rhinoceros declined to near extinction in the early 1900s, primarily due to widespread conversion of alluvial plains grasslands to agricultural development, which led to human-rhino conflicts and easier accessibility for hunters. Sport hunting became common in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The major cause of decrease in the number of rhinos is due to poaching for rhino. Destruction of habitat for the constructions for human living has declined its number.
Reference: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/19496/0
http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/rhinoceros/asian_rhinos/indian_rhinoceros/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/greater-one-horned-rhino