Men's Journal

Red Wolf Photo credit: Kim Wheeler

See these animals in the wild before they go the way of the dodo.

By David Page

As of 2008, more than a third of all species tracked by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (17,797 of 44,838) are either threatened or gone. The culprits are habitat destruction by humans and climate change— forces unlikely to abate anytime soon— making these five animals prime cadidates for extinction. So grab a telephoto lens and head out to catch one on film before it’s too late.

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)
Arkansas
How many left: Unknown
Also known as the Lord God Bird this is (or was) the largest woodpecker in the U.S., generally presumed extinct by the 1940s. Then, in 2004, a kayaker saw what looked like an ivory bill. An ongoing multimillion-dollar search ensued but turned up only a few potential sightings and four seconds of grainy video.
Where to see one: Start in Bayou DeView, then paddle south into the White River National Wildlife Refuge.

Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi)
Florida
How many left: 80-100
About 20 remained in the wild when scientists introduced eight female panthers from Texas in the 1990s, which resulted in 20 kittens.
Where to see one: Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation has a high number of panthers and an array of swamp tours that on occasion stumble upon the cats in action (seminoletribe.com)

Red Wolf (Canis rufus)
North Carolina
How many left: 100-120
In the 1970s, 17 survivors were captured along the Gulf Coast for breeding purposes, and the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild. In 1987 an experimental population was reestablished in North Carolina by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Where to see one: Join a nighttime howling safari at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (redwolves.com)

Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae)
California
How many left: ~400
Diseases and mountain lions dropped the number of the sheep to about 100 by 1999, before it was given emergency protection.
Where to see one: John Wehausen’s seminars at Mono Lake offer excellent odds: Nine out of 10 trips have had sightings (monolake.org).

Texas Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis albescens)
Texas
How many left: 20-80
Since Aztec times the ocelot has been prized for its fur, and as late as 1990 pelts were sold in Mexico. In south Texas, more than 95 percent of this subspecies’s native habitat has been altered, and collisions with cars have become the top cause of ocelot mortality.
Where to see one: Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is their core breeding ground, but your best bet might be along roads outside the park (fws.gov).

Print this article