25 Rare Animals Nearly Impossible To See In The Wild

Also known as the Mississippi gopher frog, the dusky gopher frog is a very rare species of frog native to the southern US. This medium-sized, stocky frog once was common in parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. However, its current population consists of less than 250 individuals living in two small ponds in southern Mississippi.

With a wingspan of up to 3 m (10 ft), the California condor is the largest bird in North America. In 1987, this magnificent bird became extinct in the wild when the last 27 individuals were captured and put in breeding programs. Four years later, the bird was reintroduced to its natural habitat. Despite these re-population efforts, its wild population is still very small.

Also known as the monk sloth or the dwarf sloth, the pygmy three-toed sloth is a critically endangered species of the sloth. This curious animal has a very restricted range as it can only be found on a tiny island, Isla Escudo de Veraguas, located off mainland Panama. The entire population of this species is estimated at some 80 individuals.

Commonly referred to as “el lobo,” the Mexican wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf. These canids once numbered in thousands, but they were wiped out in the US by the mid-1970s, with just a handful existing in zoos. In 1998, a small group of Mexican wolves was released back into the wild in Arizona, but their numbers have been growing very slowly.

With a wingspan of up to 180 cm (71 in) and weight of up to 3.5 kg (7.7 lb), the Madagascan fish eagle is a large bird of prey local to Northwest Madagascar. Constantly threatened by habitat destruction and persecution, the current wild population of this beautiful bird is thought to be around just 120 breeding pairs.