World Wildlife Fund

The Greater Mekong is home to many of the world’s most unique and magnificent wildlife. Its vivid tapestry of wildlife and plants, the wealth of fish swimming in its waters, and abundance of endemic and rare animals roaming its forests are rivaled only by the Amazon, which is six times larger in size.

Mekong giant catfish, the largest freshwater fish in the world, is critically endangered.
© WWF-Canon / Zeb HOGAN

Mekong Giant Catfish - The World's largest freshwater fish
The world's largest freshwater fish, the Mekong giant catfish is distinguished by the near-total lack of whisker-like barbells, the absence of teeth and its gigantic size. The fish grows quickly and can reach over 660 pounds and up to 10 feet in length, approximately the size of a grizzly bear. One fish can feed an entire village for a week.
Among the numerous endemic fish species in the Mekong, the giant catfish is one of the most imperiled. It has to swim great distances, often upstream, to reach the parts of the river where it spawns. Its future becomes less secure each time the river is diverted by flood control schemes, water diversions and dams. Since 2001, WWF has worked with local communities and governments to protect the most important stretches of the river from hydropower development, over-fishing and over-harvesting to protect the remaining population.

Numbering less than 1,000, Indochinese tigers are severely threatened by habitat loss, wildlife trade, human conflict and the continued use of tiger products in traditional medicine.

Indo-Chinese Tiger
It is estimated that there are less than 1,000 Indo-Chinese tigers left in the wild and they are disappearing fast. The demand for tiger products for use in traditional medicine and other products has taken its toll. Moreover, habitat fragmentation and loss of prey species has left the large cat struggling to survive. WWF is working to establish a landscape-wide tiger, prey and threat monitoring system in critical tiger habitat.

Red-shanked douc langurs are found in the North and Central Annamites.
© WWF-Canon / Martin HARVEY

The Douc Langurs
Endemic to the greater Mekong region, these endangered primates are known for their vibrant colors and long white tails. Like many primates, doucs are social animals and live in groups. They are arboreal and diurnal, which means that they live and eat in trees and rarely descend to the ground. Since they feed mostly on leaves and fruit, they help maintain tree diversity by distributing seeds in the forest.
 

The saola was discovered in central Vietnam in 1992.
© WWF-Canon / David HULSE

Saola
In 1992, a team of scientists from WWF and Vietnam's Ministry of Forestry were shown a pair of long, almost straight horns while conducting a survey in Vu Quang Nature Reserve in central Vietnam. After discussions with local villagers and the discovery of two additional pairs of horns, it was clear that they had discovered a new species of large mammal - the saola. There is still very little known about this member of the Bovidae family, which includes antelopes, buffalo, bison, cattle, goats, and sheep. WWF has been involved with the protection of this species since its discovery and we are working to establish a 'saola landscape' in the Central Annamites.

WWF has established a dolphin conservation project in Kratie, Cambodia to help protect the Mekong dolphin.
© WWF-Canon / WWF Intl.

Mekong (Irrawaddy) Dolphin
The deep pools of the Mekong River shelter one of the most critically endangered species in the world, the Irrawaddy dolphin. Although sometimes referred to as a river dolphin, it is not a true river dolphin but an oceanic dolphin that lives near the coast and frequents freshwater rivers.

The dolphin is identified by a bulging forehead and a short beak. It is blue-gray in color but often appears white against the muddy waters of the Mekong. It is a slow swimmer and rarely lifts its tail fluke out of the water. Its population is estimated to be as low as 70-100 individuals and is decreasing at an alarming speed.

Javan Rhinos
The Javan rhinoceros is on the brink of extinction. Only two populations are known to exist in the wild: there are 50 – 60 individuals in Indonesia’s Ujong Kulon National Park and between 5 and 10 individuals in Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam.

It is generally believed that only the males have a small horn. The horn is actually a dense formation of hair; it is not bone. Rhino horn is highly valued as a traditional medicine. However, it is important to know that the medical claims have never been scientifically proven and that hunting and trading in parts of any rhino is forbidden under the International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).