West African Oyan
Poiana leightoni
Red List assessment
Vulnerableon the IUCN Red List
- EXExtinct
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- CRCritically Endangered
- ENEndangered
- VUVulnerable
- NTNear Threatened
- LCLeast Concern
The IUCN Red List assesses the West African Oyan as Vulnerable.
- Genus
- Poiana
- Red List category
- Vulnerable
- Data updated
- August 9, 2026
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The West African Oyan is one of the mammals assessed by the IUCN Red List, so it has a page here — with its scientific name, Poiana leightoni, its conservation category and, where one is known, a recorded observation on the map. What is missing is the rest: habitat, distribution, diet, behaviour, threats and the conservation work under way.
Each profile is researched and checked one species at a time, and there are thousands to go. You can put this one at the front of the queue.
In the meantime, the full assessment is on the IUCN Red List.
Questions about the West African Oyan
Is the West African Oyan endangered?
Yes. The IUCN Red List assesses the West African Oyan as Vulnerable, one of the three threatened categories. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. It is the first of the three threatened categories: numbers are falling, the range is shrinking, or the population is small enough that a single bad event could do lasting damage.
What is the scientific name of the West African Oyan?
The West African Oyan is Poiana leightoni.
Other species in the genus Poiana
Sources
Conservation status, range description and population estimate come from the IUCN Red List assessment for Poiana leightoni. Countries are derived from that range description, not from a mapped country list. Last refreshed on .
The distribution map is drawn from the IUCN Red List spatial data compiled in 2015. International Union for the Conservation of Nature