Southeast Asia - Artensterben

Some of the rarest animal species in the world: from the nearly extinct vaquita to the red wolf, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, the Okinawa spiny rat, and the northern white rhino. These species now survive only in tiny populations.

8. May 2026 Doreen Fräßdorf

Fewer Than 50 Individuals: These Animal Species Have Almost Disappeared

There are animal species worldwide whose populations have now shrunk to just a few dozen or even only single individuals. Many of them stand on the brink of extinction and survive only in small refuges or through elaborate conservation programs. The main cause of their decline is humans, for example

Der Sulu-Raupenfänger galt lange Zeit als Unterart des Bindenraupenfängers (Bild).

For a long time, the Sulu cuckooshrike (Coracina guillemardi) was treated as a subspecies of the much more widespread bar-bellied cuckooshrike (Coracina striata, shown here) because of morphological similarities. (© Coracina striata (Boddaert, 1783), Observed in Philippines by dmalerta, CC BY-NC 4.0, via GBIF)

20. March 2026 Doreen Fräßdorf

Chance discovery in the Sulu Archipelago: Long lost cuckooshrike documented after nearly 20 years

In November 2025, the Sulu cuckooshrike (Coracina guillemardi) was documented again for the first time in almost two decades in the remote forests of Tawi-Tawi in the Sulu Archipelago in the southwest of the Philippines. The species was considered lost—not officially extinct, but without any confirmed records for years. The

The kouprey is among the most enigmatic wild cattle in the world. First described scientifically in 1937, it was already extremely rare at that time. Characteristic features include the frayed horn tips of mature bulls and the pronounced dewlap. Today, according to the IUCN, the kouprey is probably extinct. (© Illustration aus Coolidge, H. J. (1940). The Indo-Chinese forest ox or kouprey. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 54(6), via Biodiversity Heritage Library)

27. June 2025 Doreen Fräßdorf

The Kouprey: A Zoological Mystery

The kouprey is considered one of the most mysterious wild cattle in the world. First described by Western scientists only in 1937, this shy animal from the tropical forests of the tri-border region of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia remained scarcely studied for decades. Many zoologists saw the kouprey as a

vom Aussterben bedrohte Jangtse-Riesenweichschildkröte

A rare individual of the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, photographed in 2011 in Dong Mo Lake near Hanoi, Vietnam. The critically endangered species is on the verge of extinction — every documented individual is of great importance for conservation. (© Phuongcacanh at Vietnamese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

18. June 2025 Doreen Fräßdorf

Last Hope for Rescue: The Search for the Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle

It is one of the rarest turtle species in the world — it may even be the rarest of all: the Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei). The species is critically endangered and may already have disappeared from the wild. At present, only two male individuals are known worldwide. Yet

One of the few photographs of the extinct Schomburgk's deer. The picture was taken in 1911 at the Berlin Zoological Garden. (© Lothar Schlawe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

9. June 2025 Doreen Fräßdorf

Schomburgk’s deer — Could it still exist?

The riddle of Schomburgk’s deer “No one seems ever to have seen this animal; all that we think we know about it is the existence of its antlers”, noted Phya Jolamark Bhicharana wrote in 1932 about Schomburgk’s deer. The American biologist Francis Harper also wrote in 1945 that this deer—which

The fairly large weevil Metapocyrtus (Orthocyrtus) bifoveatus, measuring 1.35 centimeters in length and rediscovered after around 100 years, is colored metallic green, blue and rust-brown. (© Tomislav Terzin et al, From deforestation to recovery: One new species and new record of the genus Metapocyrtus Heller, 1912 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Pachyrhynchini) from Negros Island, Philippines with the review of type material, Topola (2023). DOI: 10.5937/topola2312005T)

6. February 2024 Doreen Fräßdorf

Philippines: colorful weevil rediscovered after 100 years + new species found

Biologist Tom Terzin of the University of Alberta discovered two species of weevil in the rainforests of the Philippine island of Negros: one previously thought extinct and one entirely new species. What is especially interesting is that the finds, published in the journal Topola, show nature’s ability to recover after

Nördliches Sumatra-Nashorn Begum London Zoo

A photograph taken around 1890 of a female northern Sumatran rhinoceros named Begum at London Zoo. This specimen formed the basis for the first scientific description of the species in 1872. The holotype lived at London Zoo from February 15, 1872, to August 31, 1900. (© Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

3. December 2023 Doreen Fräßdorf

Northern Sumatran Rhinoceros

How the Sumatran rhinoceros came to London In February 1868, some villagers captured a female Sumatran rhinoceros on the Sangu River near the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a mountainous region in southeastern Bangladesh—such a species had never before been reported so far west of Chittagong. The rhinoceros came into the possession

Neu entdeckte Tiere 2023: Krokodilsmolch Tylototriton ngoclinhensis

The species name ngoclinhensis refers to the type locality of the newly discovered Ngoc Linh crocodile newt (Tylototriton ngoclinhensis): Ngoc Linh Mountain in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. (© Phung TM, Pham CT, Nguyen TQ, Ninh HT, Nguyen HQ, Bernardes M, Le ST, Ziegler T, Nguyen TT (2023) Southbound – the southernmost record of Tylototriton (Amphibia, Caudata, Salamandridae) from the Central Highlands of Vietnam represents a new species. ZooKeys 1168: 193-218.)

9. November 2023 Doreen Fräßdorf

Newly discovered animals 2023

It is said that between 11,000 and 58,000 animal and plant species irreversibly go extinct each year, but there is also good news: around 18,000 new species are described and named by taxonomists each year; this number includes extinct or fossilized organisms, as well as bacteria and viruses. Even in

Yangtze giant softshell turtles were also hunted for their carapace, whose ingredients were used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), for example against impotence or hair loss. (© en:John Edward Gray and/or G.H. Ford, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

20. May 2023 Doreen Fräßdorf

Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle Probably Soon Extinct

On April 21, 2023, the probably last remaining female Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) was found dead in Dong Mo Lake in Hanoi District. This likely condemns the species to extinction, because the only animals of this species currently known are two males: one is living at Suzhou Zoo

The only known specimen of Ridley's stick insect is now housed in the Natural History Museum in London. (© Paul Brock's photos, copyright Natural History Museum, London., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

30. May 2022 Doreen Fräßdorf

Ridley’s Stick Insect

About walking leaves and walking sticks Insects that strongly resemble leaves or twigs in appearance are called walking leaves or walking sticks, stick insects, ghost insects or phasmids. Stick insects are considered the longest insects on Earth. The body length of some Southeast Asian species can exceed half a meter