8 of the Cutest — and Rarest — Creatures on the Planet

this is aya and sagu too adorable clouded leopard cubs don't be fooled by a youthful spirit clouded leopards are some of the most shy mysterious and elusive cats besides their shy nature they have a steadily declining population making it even harder to spot them in the wild as far as big cats go clouded leopards are the smallest these two little girls will top out at around 3 feet when fully grown native throughout Asia they live in diverse habitats from the rain forests of Indonesia to the foothills of the Himalayas they pack a powerful bite - as they have the largest canine teeth relative to body size of any wild cat they have short powerful legs and ankles that convert eight backwards making them elite climbers beyond a quickly shrinking habitat perching remains a huge problem as their skin claws teeth burns and meat are all sold on the black market this is the clouded leopard [Music] this is Sharda and this is Lina two young servals these slender medium-sized cats are native to sub-saharan Africa and have a gorgeous golden coat with black spots servals have the longest legs of any cat relative to body sizes their ears are also impressively large and converted 180 degrees giving them a keen sense of hearing which helps them locate prey efficiently their long lean and can jump up to nine feet in the air to catch unsuspecting birds flying by beyond birds they mostly feed on rodents insects and reptiles servos prefer wetlands and areas with tall grasses near water unfortunately degradation of these wetlands is leaving them with less and less space while hunting for their prized Kerch remains a big concern this is the serval [Music] this is the speaks gazelle the smallest of the gazelle species sadly it is also one of the most endangered they max out at around two feet and forty pounds their biggest feature is their nerves which can puff up to the size of a tennis ball when excited native to the Horn of Africa they live in semi desert grasslands and feed on grass herbs shrubs and other plants in the 80s they were one of the most abundant gazelle species in parts of Ethiopia and Somalia but today the eath European population is close to extinction while numbers in Somalia have greatly decreased a combination of hunting droughts and over grazing has decimated the population this is the speakes gazelle [Music] this is Tami and Lucho they're two mandalas and this is their first date [Music] when at Amanda feels threatened it will rear up on its hind legs and use its sharp powerful claws to slash out sometimes it can be hard to break the ice commando is our the smaller cousin of the giant anteater and while both species enjoy snacking on ants - Manju is our excellent tree climbers while they're larger relatives prefer to stay firmly on the ground commanders have excellent defense mechanisms for enemies both large and small if a predator gets too close the demanda will release a powerful stinky spray four times as strong as a skunk and it's thick coarse fur keeps angry ants from reaching its skin when dining in an anthill despite these protective adaptations the term Angelov remains it's threatened species in the native Central and South America habitat loss and hunting are both looming threats this is the Tamandua this is Zana am a cheese tree kangaroo she's adorable isn't she but don't let her adorableness deceive you this rare kangaroo is extremely threatened with curved claws and stocky muscular limbs she's at harm in the trees however her padded paws allow her to fall from up to 60 feet without injury this marsupial is so rare it can only be found in the mountainous rainforests of northeastern Papua New Guinea it's a solitary creature that spends most of its time alone except for when there's a baby to care for tree kangaroo Joey's spend 18 months with their mothers before setting out on their own oil drilling and logging are destroying the match's habitat and it's thick beautiful fur has made it an attractive target for native hunters captive breeding and local education efforts are making headway but its future is uncertain this is the match's tree kangaroo [Music] this is wicked a red panda at 10 years old wicked is a fully grown male with the height of just over two feet or slightly larger than your average house cat as cute as he is his population has decreased dramatically with less than 10,000 left in the wild red panda renamed it is not closely related to the giant panda but actually closer to the raccoon family he loves to eat bamboo but weren't turned down the occasional bird insect or mammal for a snack native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China red pandas live in trees and our nimble agile climbers their reddish brown fur and bushy tails camouflage them in their habitat from predators like snow leopards besides other animals humans pose a major threat poaching and hunting them for their fur the forest that they live in a shrinking fast an estimates say that their population has been cut in half in the last 20 years this is the red panda [Music] [Music] this is Charlotte a prehensile-tailed porcupines with her short thick spines she's adorably speckled but that cute little outfit is actually an excellent defense mechanism her spines rise up when threatened to give a larger and more threatening appearance Charlotte will spend most of her life in the trees deep in the forests of Central and South America she feeds on bark leaves fruits and roots her feet have long curved clothes making her an adept climber while prehensile-tailed porcupines are firm it'll at protecting themselves they are less successful against humans as they are hunted for food in parts of their habitat that along with a diminishing territory have left their population in flux this is the prehensile-tailed porcupines [Music] this is Kizzy a black-and-white ruffed lemur she calls the rain forests of eastern Madagascar home and unfortunately home is disappearing black-and-white ruffed lemurs grow up to four feet and close to ten pounds making them one of the larger lemur species besides making for curious look they're extra thick fur helps protect them from rainfall as water just runs off it they are an all-female dominant social group and live mostly high in the trees where they search for fruit to eat while they don't have many natural predators accelerated habitat loss from logging has left them critically endangered this is the black-and-white ruffed lemur [Music]

Channel: Great Big Story

Views: 4,300,441

Rating: 4.9368057 out of 5

Keywords: great big story, gbs, lag, great big reel, great big reel 132, cute animals, clouded leopard, cubs, serval, giraffe cat, gazelle, endangered, tamandua, exotic pet trade, tree kangaroo, marsupial, red panda, wildlife, porcupine, threatened, lemur, conservation, On The Brink, Planet Earth

Id: vl-PcTA9HHg

Length: 9min 52sec (592 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 14 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/ZekiraDrake]

Before this gets drowned, let's just list the animals mentioned for those who can't watch the video/too lazy to, and their corresponding Friend

1.) Clouded Leopard - https://japari-library.com/wiki/Clouded_Leopard
2.) Serval - https://japari-library.com/wiki/Serval
3.) Speke's Gazelle - no Friend yet
4.) Tamandua - doesn't mention either North or South. https://japari-library.com/wiki/Southern_Tamandua
5.) Matschie's Tree Kangaroo - no Friend yet
6.) Red Panda - https://japari-library.com/wiki/Red_Panda
7.) Prehensile-tailed Porcupine - no Friend yet
8.) Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur - https://japari-library.com/wiki/Black-And-White_Ruffed_Lemur