Animals in Sierra Leone
19 mammal species are recorded in Sierra Leone in this dataset, 7 of them in a threatened Red List category. Sierra Leone sits in Africa, where 267 species are recorded in total. Every species below is listed because the range description of its IUCN Red List assessment names Sierra Leone.
They belong to 8 families, the best represented being Bovidae (6), Anomaluridae (3), Cercopithecidae (3). By Red List category: 6 Endangered, 1 Vulnerable, 5 Near Threatened, 7 Least Concern.
These counts come from the text of each assessment rather than from an official country checklist, so a species whose assessment names a region without naming Sierra Leone is missing here, and a wide-ranging animal is counted in every country it crosses. All 19 of them have a full written profile.
- Species recorded
- 19
- Threatened
- 7
- Continent
- Africa
- Data updated
- August 9, 2026
Conservation status in Sierra Leone
The most threatened species in Sierra Leone
7 of the 7 species recorded here that the IUCN Red List places in a threatened category — Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered.

Diana Monkey
Cercopithecus diana
Endangered
Giant Ground Pangolin
Smutsia gigantea
Endangered
Jentink's Duiker
Cephalophus jentinki
Endangered
King Colobus
Colobus polykomos
Endangered
Pygmy Hippopotamus
Choeropsis liberiensis
Endangered
White-bellied Pangolin
Phataginus tricuspis
Endangered
Zebra Duiker
Cephalophus zebra
Vulnerable
The families found in Sierra Leone
- Bovidae 6
- Anomaluridae 3
- Cercopithecidae 3
- Manidae 2
- Soricidae 2
- Hippopotamidae 1
- Hystricidae 1
- Mustelidae 1
Every species recorded in Sierra Leone
All 19 of them, written profiles first.

Diana Monkey
Cercopithecus diana
Endangered
Giant Ground Pangolin
Smutsia gigantea
Endangered
Jentink's Duiker
Cephalophus jentinki
Endangered
King Colobus
Colobus polykomos
Endangered
Pygmy Hippopotamus
Choeropsis liberiensis
Endangered
White-bellied Pangolin
Phataginus tricuspis
Endangered
Zebra Duiker
Cephalophus zebra
Vulnerable
African Brush-tailed Porcupine
Atherurus africanus
Least Concern
African Clawless Otter
Aonyx capensis
Near Threatened
Bay Duiker
Cephalophus dorsalis
Near Threatened
Black Duiker
Cephalophus niger
Least Concern
Dwarf Scaly-tailed Squirrel
Anomalurus pusillus
Least Concern
Greenwood's Shrew
Crocidura greenwoodi
Least Concern
Lord Derby's Scaly-tailed Squirrel
Anomalurus derbianus
Least Concern
Maxwell's Duiker
Philantomba maxwellii
Least Concern
Nimba Shrew
Crocidura nimbae
Near Threatened
Pel's Flying Squirrel
Anomalurus pelii
Least Concern
Spot-nosed Monkey
Cercopithecus petaurista
Near Threatened
Yellow-backed Duiker
Cephalophus silvicultor
Near Threatened
Where to go from Sierra Leone
The countries in Africa that share the most species with Sierra Leone, by number of species recorded in both.
Species data from the IUCN Red List; countries are derived from the range description of each assessment. Last refreshed on August 9, 2026.
