Animals of the world

There are three useful ways into a wildlife map, and they answer different questions. Where an animal lives is a question about geography, so it is answered by continent. How close it is to disappearing is a question about conservation, so it is answered by Red List category. What it is related to is a question about taxonomy, so it is answered by family. This page is the way into all three.

The dataset behind them covers 6036 mammal species recorded across 175 countries, each with a formal IUCN assessment of its range, its population trend and the pressures it faces. 1364 of them currently carry a threatened category. Every grouping below is counted from that same dataset, so the numbers on this page and the numbers on the pages it links to always agree.

Explore by continent

Explore by conservation status

The IUCN Red List places every assessed species in one category, from Least Concern to Extinct. The colours below are the Red List's own.

How many animals are endangered?

The best represented families

A family groups species that share an ancestor and, usually, a body plan and a way of life. These are the 12 families with the most species in the dataset — a reminder that most mammals are small: rodents, bats and shrews outnumber everything else several times over.