More than 1,140 mammals are in danger of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

South African IUCN conservation expert Michael Hoffmann gave Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa examples of the most highly threatened species of mammals. They include:

Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis): 35 animals surviving in the wild, only on Vancouver Island, Canada.

Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus): Around 20 animals in the wild, only on Hainan Island, China.

Kouprey (Bos sauveli): Formerly in mainland south-east Asia, now possibly extinct.

Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus): An estimated 40 to 60 animals on the western tip of Java in Ujung Kulon National Park, and a smaller population in the Cat Tien National Park of Vietnam, with around six individuals remaining.

Baiji or Chinese river dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer): Probably the most threatened cetacean in the world, not sighted since 2002.

Red wolf (Canis rufus): Less than 50 mature individuals survive, only in a reintroduced population in North Carolina, US.

Little earth hutia (Mesocapromys sanfelipensis): A rodent known only from Cuba, where it has not been seen in nearly 40 years.

Santa Catarina's guinea pig (Cavia intermedia): No more than 60 individuals, only in Serra do Tabuleiro State Park on Moleques Island do Sul, Brazil.

Wild horse (Equus ferus): fewer than 50 mature individuals remain in the wild.

Gilbert's potoroo (Potorous gilberti): between 30 and 40 individuals in western Australia.