# What is the most endangered iconic animal?

> Tigers, lions, rhinos, orangutans and the vaquita all sit somewhere on the endangered list. Vote for the species whose survival you think matters most.

*By YPB Team · Published August 6, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-most-endangered-iconic-animal*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Tiger**
   Endangered, but the population has climbed from its 2010 low.
2. **Lion**
   Vulnerable, down to roughly 24,000 from an estimated 200,000.
3. **Giant Panda**
   Conservation's poster animal, and one of its clearest wins.
4. **Black Rhino**
   Poached to the brink for a horn made of keratin.
5. **Sumatran Orangutan**
   Losing forest faster than almost any other great ape.
6. **Mountain Gorilla**
   One of the few great apes whose numbers are rising.
7. **Snow Leopard**
   Almost impossible to count, let alone protect.
8. **African Forest Elephant**
   Critically endangered, and long mistaken for one species with the savanna elephant.
9. **Blue Whale**
   The largest animal that has ever lived, still recovering from whaling.
10. **Vaquita**
   The world's rarest marine mammal, down to a handful of individuals.
11. **Amur Leopard**
   Among the rarest big cats on Earth.
12. **Polar Bear**
   The species that became shorthand for a warming Arctic.
13. **Hawksbill Turtle**
   Hunted for a shell sold as tortoiseshell.
14. **Red Panda**
   Not a panda, and quietly disappearing.

Tags: nature, animals