North America is an incredibly biodiverse continent – home, at last count, to over 32,000 species, who can be found living everywhere from prairies and deserts to mountains. Yet in 2024, a shocking one-third of these mammals, amphibians, reptiles and more are at risk of extinction – due to climate change, deforestation and even overgrazing by farm animals. Using the latest data from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) we’ve ranked North America’s 20 most endangered species, based on why they’re so at-risk, and how many are left in the wild.

Click through this gallery to discover North America's most endangered animals... 

The world’s smallest sea turtle is also the most at-risk, with just an estimated 22,341 left in the wild. These tiny but mighty marine reptiles can live up to 50 years, but are now critically endangered due to getting caught up in bycatch and fishing gear, rising sea levels which destroy their habitats and increasingly polluted oceans. Most of North America’s remaining Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles are found in the Gulf of Mexico, but they have also been seen in the Atlantic Ocean, reaching as far north as Canada.

Another critically endangered, Mexican-dwelling turtle is the Coahuilan box variety, of which there are estimated to be just 2,500 left in the country’s Cuatro Ciénegas Basin. Spending 90% of their time underwater in ponds or wetlands (buried in mud, to keep their body temperature stable) Coahuilan box turtles are now on the IUCN’s red list of endangered species due to drainage of their habitats, canal digging, urbanisation and even the illegal pet trade.

As the world’s largest land reptile, weighing in at up to 18kg (40lbs), you’d be forgiven for thinking the Bolson tortoise could defend itself against predators. But, devastatingly, the biggest threat to these majestic creatures are humans. Endemic to the Chihuahuan desert, Mexico, the Bolson tortoise is now considered critically endangered by the IUCN, with fewer than 2,500 left thriving in the wild. Overgrazing by cattle and construction work that has destroyed their grassland habitats are the key reasons why their numbers have reduced so dramatically in recent years. 

One of the few more positive stories on this list, the numbers of Laysan ducks are actually increasing, according to the IUCN. These birds live only on the tiny (900 acre) Laysan Island in Hawaii, and when rabbits were introduced in the early 1900s, their numbers dwindled down to just 11. While they are still considered critically endangered, with just 500-860 believed to exist in the wild, conservation efforts have happily led to rising numbers in recent years. With their chocolate brown feathers and distinctive white ring around each eye, the Laysan duck’s diet includes insects, larvae, seeds, leaves and algae.

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North Atlantic right whales have a long and sad history, having been hunted – and their populations decimated – since the 11th century. As their name suggests, they live and travel along North America’s east coast,  feeding on small crustaceans like krill and zooplankton. They are now considered to be critically endangered by the IUCN, with just 200-250 mature right whales living in the wild. Heartbreakingly, this number is actually decreasing, having reduced by 29% since 2010. The key reason for this staggering decline? Climate change, which has forced whales to move habitats, meaning they come into closer contact with dangerous fishing vessels and gear. If drastic action isn’t taken, it’s believed they could be all but extinct in 20 years’ time. 

Less than 250 Houston toads are estimated to remain in east and central Texas, where they are a native species. Just two to three inches (5-7cm) long, these tiny amphibians are so endangered because they require very specific conditions to thrive: namely forests and plenty of deep sands where they can safely aestivate (like hibernating, but in hot rather than cold periods). Sadly, urbanisation and deforestation means these specific conditions are difficult, or even impossible, to achieve – and that’s not even including the threats they face from killer red fire ants, busy roads, droughts and wildfires.

Named for the only place they’re found on earth – Hickory Nut Gorge, a 14-mile (22km) canyon in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina – there are just 249 Hickory Nut Gorge green salamanders left in the wild, and this number is decreasing. Just 2 inches (5cm) long, with distinctive green spots that help them camouflage in trees, these striking amphibians are under threat due to rapid real estate and tourism development in the area. In fact, Southern Appalachia – the area where they live – contains more salamander species than anywhere on Earth. However, 60% of these are threatened with extinction. 

Not the pets popular around the world, but the only breed of ferret native to the Americas, just 206 black-footed ferrets remain in South Dakota, Wyoming and Arizona. The culprit behind their almost-extinction? The systematic culling of prairie dogs, their primary source of prey, in the 20th century. This was due to prairie dogs’ destruction of farmlands, but resulted in the loss of black-footed ferrets’ key food source, as well as their main source of shelter – prairie dogs’ burrows. On a happier note, captive breeding of these ferrets has been successful, with 8,000 ‘kits’ (their babies) born since the late 1980s.

Pronounced ‘ax-uh-lot-all’, these tiny sea-dwelling creatures are unique in both name and appearance. With six feathery gills on the sides of their head, they appear to be constantly smiling – which is probably why there is a flourishing pet trade in axolotls across east Asia, although it’s illegal to own them in several US states. Their impossibly cute appearance hides a sad story, however – there are estimated to be just 50-1,000 axolotls left in their natural habitat, Lake Xochimilco in Mexico. The race to save them from extinction is even more urgent due to their incredible powers of regeneration; axolotls can grow back lost limbs, hearts and even parts of their brain, meaning they’re an important part of scientific research into human tissue regeneration. 

Part of the vulture family, California condors are a sight to behold in the skies of the California desert, Arizona, Utah and Mexico – if you’re lucky enough to spot one, as just 93 are estimated to live in the wild as of 2020. With a wingspan of up to 10 feet (3m), they’re the largest flying birds in North America, with adults reaching the size of a small car. So what’s the story behind these distinctive birds’ dramatic decline? Lead poisoning, habitat loss and historic poaching. By 1987, the situation was so dire that the world's 22 remaining California condors were captured and placed in captivity. This drastic action worked, to an extent, as condors released back into the wild are gradually growing in number, producing their own chicks.

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Perhaps the cutest critter on this list, Vancouver Island marmots have fluffy brown fur, bushy tails, and look impossibly cuddly. Sadly, only 90 remain in their natural habitat, the forests, mountains and grasslands of Canada’s Vancouver Island. As the island rapidly grows in population,  marmots are threatened by logging, which destroys their homes, and in turn makes it easier for their predators – namely cougars and eagles – to reach them.

The ivory-billed woodpecker has a fascinating story. So rare that it has been described as ‘the Bigfoot of birds’, it had its last credible sighting in 1944. By 2021, it was about to be declared extinct – before researchers on a three-year quest claimed to have spotted the red-crested birds in the Louisiana woodland. Once endemic to the forests of southern US states, from Florida to Illinois, Oklahoma to Texas, North America’s largest woodpecker was decimated by overhunting and humans interfering with their natural habitat. And as recently as this year, another twist in the tale: with a biotech company announcing plans to use cloning in order to ‘de-extinct’ the ivory-billed woodpecker. Watch this space…

The Deep South-dwelling dusky gopher frog lives in the boggy wetlands and forests of Mississippi, but are now classed as critically endangered, with less than 50 estimated to remain as of 2021. Black, grey and brown with a yellowish underbelly, these warty amphibians defend themselves by shooting bitter fluid from their backs – but face a litany of threats, including loss of their habitats to disease, off-road vehicles and rising temperatures. 

Rice’s whale are one of the rarest whales in the world, with just 26 left swimming in their natural habitat, the Gulf of Mexico. Even more tragically, this tiny number is in itself decreasing, meaning Rice’s whales face rapid extinction unless drastic action is taken. Growing over 40 feet (12m) long, these powerful mammals were only recognised as a distinct species in 2021 – but have been decimated by ship strikes, fishing accidents and, most notably, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010, where 48% of the Rice’s whale population were exposed to the harmful waste. 

The actual population of Hot Creek toads is unknown – and for good reason, as the species was only discovered in 2017. Tiny in number and extremely vulnerable to any changes in their habitats, they live in the Great Basin in the Hot Creek Mountain Range, Nevada. Marshy and arid, the Hot Creek toad’s environment is incredibly dry and surrounded by desert, making them difficult to spot and trace. 

Found only in the state of Alabama, flattened musk turtles get their name from their distinctive flat shell and ornate facial marketings. Dwelling in freshwater streams and rivers, they are an ancient and prehistoric species dating back more than 80 million years. Devastatingly, the flattened musk turtle has been almost extirpated by habitat degradation, having lost approximately 90% of their suitable habitats. Thankfully, they are now a protected species under Alabama state law. While exact numbers remain unknown, they are considered critically endangered by the IUCN. 

The final turtle on this list is also the smallest, measuring a miniscule 4.5 inches (11.5cm) long. What they lack in stature, they make up for in lifespan, living up to 60 years in the wild, but they are now seriously threatened as a result of urban sprawl and fragmentation of their wetland habitat, although current populations are unknown. Interestingly, bog turtles in the US are split into two separate populations: one in the north, and one in the south, with only the former recognised as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1997.

We’re getting into seriously rare territory now – so rare that very little is known about the Georgetown salamander, only discovered in the year 2000 – apart from the fact that it is exceptionally at risk and deemed critically endangered by the IUCN red list. Its preferred habitat is under rocks and gravel in caves and freshwater springs, located in and around Central Texas’ San Gabriel River. Like many creatures on this list, it is a victim of urbanisation and development, particularly as, like many salamanders, it is highly sensitive to water quality. 

Roughly the size of a shoebox, Mojave Desert tortoises are the official California state mascot. Sadly, despite having lived in the Mojave Desert for millennia, they are now on the precipice of extinction, as a result of urban sprawl, solar farming, drought, extreme heat and wildfires – to name but a few. 80 years ago, the area was home to hundreds of tortoises per square mile; but experts are warning that the total population has fallen by 90% since the 1950s.

The sad honour of most endangered animal in North America goes to the red wolf, of which just 20-30 are living in North Carolina today. It may be hard to believe, but this is actually an improvement from 1980, when they were officially declared extinct. With their distinctive tawny-brown fur, these beautiful animals – smaller than grey wolves but larger than coyotes – have long been under threat as a result of several complex factors, including illegal killings and hybrid breeding with coyotes.

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