This inhospitable-looking landscape is home to some critically endangered species. The Niger government, this month, formally decreed this whole area - the Termit Massif and Tin Toumma desert - to be a national nature and cultural reserve. At almost 100,000 square kilometres it is the largest single protected area in Africa.   One of Earth's most inhospitable deserts is an important stop-over for migrating wildlife, scientists say. Researchers working in the Termit Massif and Tin Toumma desert in Niger say the whole area should be protected, because it is a biodiversity "hotspot". The rocky massif is home to the Critically Endangered dama gazelle.

The elusive Saharan cheetah, captured here by a camera trap, also lives there. Scientists working for the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) are working to have the area declared a National Reserve. The rainy season transforms the arid landscape into a temporary wetland, which many migrating animals depend on.

Up to 900 tropical bird species could 'go extinct'

          The wire-tailed manakin faces an uncertain future

Up to 900 species of tropical land birds around the world could become extinct by 2100, researchers say.

The finding is modelled on the effects of a 3.5C Earth surface temperature rise, a Biological Conservation Journal paper shows. Species may struggle to adapt to habitat loss and extreme weather events, author Cagan Sekercioglu says. Mountain, coastal, restricted-range, and species unable to get to higher elevations could be the worst affected.

Picking a Ten Most Endangered Animals list was a tough job. For every critically endangered creature you select, you must leave out hundreds of other animals that are in just as much jeopardy.

Big Cat Species Facing Extinction 2010 was supposed to be the Year of the Tiger. Unfortunately, tigers, lynx, jaguars, leopards, lions, pumas, cheetahs, and every species of Big Cat in the world is in decline. How long these magnificent species can evade extinction is up to us. Big Cats are part of the Family Felidae (or feline), and are a rich addition to our natural world. However, the Big Cats are in severe decline throughout the planet. The Anthropocene Extinction, also known as the Holocene Extinction event, is the world’s 6th great sudden loss of life. We are currently in the third wave of this, and man-made ecological effects such as an overexploitation of species, pollution, the introduction of alien species, and habitat encroachment are directly responsible for the decline and extinction of thousands of species of life.