Human beings have always been fascinated by wildlife, but it always gives us even more reasons to be surprised. A justification? The rarest animals in the world.

There are many rare critters that you have never heard of or never expected to see in your lifetime. Even the ones you think you already know, they often cause surprises, presenting themselves with unusual colors or shapes.

So, would you be able to tell us which are the rarest animals in the world? If not, then it's time to find out! Below, you can see a list of ten fascinating and incredible animals from all over the planet!

Starting our list of rarest animals in the world, we have the Amur leopard, also known as the Siberian leopard. It is a subspecies of leopard, which inhabits the Primorye region of Russia.

In addition, it also appears in some regions of China that border Russian territory. In 2018, an article in the scientific journal Conservation Letters reported that there were only 84 specimens left in the wild.

No wonder the International Union for Conservation of Nature considered the threat of extinction of this species critical. The main reason that put Amur leopards in this situation was the degradation of their natural habitat.

That is, as a result of logging, agriculture and forest fires. Furthermore, this bright and active animal is the target of poaching for the value of its fur.

Known to be part of the smallest of the rhinoceros species and the one with the most primitive features, the Sumatran rhinoceros is one of five living species in the rhinoceros family. Rhinocerotidae.

Originally inhabiting Southeast Asia, it is often the target of hunting in part of its geographic area, which leaves only small isolated populations in Indonesia, around 80 animals only.

Like the Amur leopard, the Sumatran rhinoceros has been targeted by poachers for the illegal trade, mainly because of the high value of its horns, which are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine.

In addition, the loss of its habitat to agriculture, livestock and the logging industry has also aggravated the threat to the species, which is in an absolutely critical state for the preservation of rhinos.

The Western Lowland Gorilla, whose scientific name is gorilla gorilla gorilla is a subspecies of the western gorilla gorilla gorilla. Considered one of the rarest animals in the world, it lives in primary and secondary forests.

In addition, it is also present in lowland swamps, in Central Africa, in Angola, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Research since the 1980s suggests that commercial hunting and outbreaks of the Ebola virus are behind the drop in the number of this gorilla species in Africa. With the latest epidemics, the number may have dropped further.

However, fortunately, the Cincinnati Zoo, in the United States, is working hard to reverse this situation. In it, there are about 550 individuals of the species in its conservation unit, leading the number of births in captivity.

Have you ever thought about the possibility of a mouse setting up the list of the rarest animals in the world? So it is! The mountain pygmy rat is also known as the mountain pygmy possum.

Weighing around 45 grams, it is a small nocturnal and omnivorous animal that lives on a diet of invertebrates, fruits, seeds, nectar and pollen. In addition, it lives in the cold and mountainous environments of southern Australia.

Indeed, it is precisely because of the characteristic of their habitat that these animals are disappearing. This is because the construction of ski resorts in Australia's Alpine regions has been one of the biggest factors attributed to population decline.

In fact, since 2008, the pygmy mountain rat has been included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as critically endangered.

Population estimates totaled less than 2,000 individuals of the species.

The Philippine crocodile, also known as the Mindoro crocodile or the Philippine freshwater crocodile, is a species of crocodile that is common in the Philippines but is severely endangered.

This is because its territory, which occupies the Philippine rivers, has been destroyed and converted into rice plantations, resulting, therefore, in its immense population loss.

Among the animals of the same species, this crocodile is medium in size: males usually do not grow more than about 3 meters, while females are even smaller.

Also known as addax, the white antelope is an artiodactyl mammal of the bovidae family and lives spread across the desert regions of North Africa, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Nile River.

Currently, it is only in the Nigerian part of the Sahara desert, but it inhabits all over Africa.

Although white antelopes adapt well to their desert habitat, and can live without water for long periods of time, they are at great risk of extinction.

Scientists estimate that only 300 wild individuals of this species still exist today. No wonder they are on our list of the rarest animals in the world.

But not everything is bad news! The zoo in Brasilia, in Brazil, disclosed that it managed to set up a genetic bank of genes of mammalian animals, the largest in Latin America.

This bank contains the semen and embryos of mammals, including white antelopes, for the future perpetuation of the species.

Found only on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, the scientifically named Sumatran orangutan pongo abelii it is part of the rarest species of orangutan among the three existing ones.

In all, there are only about 7300 individuals in the wild. And over the past 75 years, the total population of Sumatran orangutans has dropped by about 80%.

The main reason for its decline is due to logging in its habitat. That is, once again the human being destroying the habitat of others and leaving serious consequences for the animal kingdom.

The hermit ibis is a species of migratory bird in the family Threskiornithidae. Found in semi-desert or rocky habitats, usually near rivers, it once inhabited the entire Middle East, North Africa, southern and central Europe.

It even has a fossil record that dates back at least 1.8 million years. And, did you know that, over 300 years ago, this species disappeared from Europe and was considered extinct?

But, it was rediscovered in the Syrian desert near Palmyra in 2002. Today, scientists estimate that there are about 500 wild birds left in southern Morocco and less than 10 in Syria.

There are several reasons for the drop in the number of individuals, but hunting and habitat reduction, in addition to pesticide poisoning, may be the main ones.

To combat this decline, reintroduction programs have been instituted internationally, with a breeding colony in Turkey, as well as sites in Austria, Spain and northern Morocco.

Even so, as a migratory species, the hermit ibis is still extinct. To relearn how to migrate, an ultralight is being used to guide them in the hope of later becoming autonomous.

Because the second place of the rarest animals in the world is the black-footed weasel, also known as the American toirão or black-footed ferret. It is a species of mustelid native to central North America.

In addition, it is listed as endangered by the IUCN precisely because it is at risk of extinction. Discovered in 1851, the black-footed weasel went into population decline throughout the 20th century due to the wild plague.

With this, in 1979, it was declared extinct, but fortunately its existence was rediscovered when a guard dog of an American cattle-breeding family found a dead animal in 1981.

But after this case, the remaining small population of black-footed weasels was protected by a captive breeding program.

So, its reintroduction was possible in eight US states, in addition to Mexico, from 1991 to 2008. Until 2013, there were around 500 weasels in the wild and 300 in captivity.

Thus, currently, thanks to the work of conservation programs, there are currently more than 1000 adult individuals born in the wild, making up about 18 populations.

But among them, four are self-sustaining populations and are located in US territory, more specifically in South Dakota (two), Arizona and Wyoming.

Also called “river wolf”, which hunts in packs, the otter is a mustelid mammal, characteristic of the Pantanal and the Amazon River basin, in South America.

Yeah, number 1 on our list of rarest animals in the world is typical of our Brazil. The giant otter, at first glance, seems cute, but it has frightening behaviors.

Because, as we said, this animal hunts in packs and the group can even face larger animals, like panthers. For example, if an anaconda gives soup, giant otters use a technique described by biologists as “tug of war”.

So this means that they stretch the snake until the internal organs rupture. But, unfortunately, as in the rest of the world, Brazil is not taking good care of its biome and, because of this, the otter is in danger.

This is because the main threat to their survival is deforestation and the destruction of their habitat. And so we end our list of the rarest animals in the world. Wassup did you like it?

But, if you want to know more, check out our list of Brazilian animals at risk of extinction below! We made a selection of ten animals, so access them below!