There are many endangered wild cats out there. Some of these wild cats are well known, such as the Tiger, or the Snow Leopard. Others are not as well known, such as the Scottish wildcat.
Here where are going to look at the wild cats which are most in danger of becoming extinct. Many of these wild cats are so in danger of becoming extinct, that they may disappear within our life time.
Let’s start with number five!
#5 Iberian Lynxes
One of the lesser known wild cats which are Critically Endangered, is the Iberian Lynx. The Iberian Lynx can be found in Spain.
There are not many of these cats left in the wild, there is thought to be only just over 400 Iberian Lynx left in the wild. Though there aren’t many of them left, they have proved to be a success story, as there were only around 100 of them left just a few years ago.
This species of cat proves that conservation work does work. Even when the species is almost close to extinction. It shows that there is hope for other species!
#4 Iriomote Cat
The Iriomote Cat is a tiny wild cat from Japan. It is a wild cat that is little well-known, compared to our other wild cats on this list.
This wild cat is Critically Endangered, there are only thought to be around 100 of them in the wild. Resulting in them being one of the world’s most endangered wild cats; which are vulnerable to extinction.
They live exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote, which means protecting their isolated and unique habitat is important for their survival.
#3 Amur Leopard
From small cats, to big cats; we turn now to the Amur Leopard.
The Amur Leopard is the world’s rarest big cat. This animal is sadly very close to extinction.
A few years ago, there was only around 48 Amur Leopard’s surviving in the wild. Now there are thought to be just over 100 Amur Leopard’s left.
There are around 200 in captivity.
This big cat is Critically Endangered, and very close to extinction. There is a very real possibility that we could see the Amur Leopard becoming extinct in our lifetime, despite recent conservation efforts.
#2 Asiatic Cheetah
The Asiatic Cheetah is lesser known than the African Cheetah, which is a shame, as this animal is much closer to extinction than its cousin in Africa.
It was reported in December last year, that there are only 50 Asiatic Cheetah's left in the wild. Which means that they are very close to extinction. They are now be the world’s rarest big cat; overtaking the Amur Leopard, which has been the world's rarest big cat for years.
#1 Scottish Wildcat
Usually when we hear about endangered wild cats, we think of the big cats, tigers, snow leopards and so on.
But, a little known wild cat is one of the world’s most endangered wild cats.
That cat is the Scottish Wildcat, a subspecies of the European wildcat.
There isn’t an exact estimate on how many Scottish Wildcats there are left in the wild. However, it is estimated that there are fewer than 100 Scottish Wildcats left in the wild.
Meaning that the wildcat is Critically Endangered and close to extinction. They also could be the world's rarest wild cat.