You Are PArt of a Global Effort

Nearly 100 IUCN Species Specialist Groups from around the world submitted nominations for the 2026 challenge, representing a remarkable global network of scientists and conservationists working to protect vulnerable species. Their efforts span field expeditions, habitat restoration, research labs and community partnerships, all aimed at safeguarding the biodiversity that keeps ecosystems healthy and thriving. By spotlighting these nominations, the Challenge helps bring greater awareness to the critical work happening every day to protect the wild places and species that sustain our planet. And as an ongoing initiative of the Global Center for Species Survival at the Indianapolis Zoo and the IUCN, Uproar for Species Survival will continue to shine a light on the dedicated people and global collaboration working to secure a future for every species on the planet.

Angola

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Australia

Antarctic Beech Orange

Cyttaria septentrionalis

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Devil’s Tapeworm

Dasyurotaenia robusta

Tasmanian Live-Bearing Seastar

Parvulastra vivipara

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Austria

Asterix Caddisfly

Ecclisopteryx asterix

Snowbank Slime Mold

Lamproderma disseminatum

Benin

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Bangladesh

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

White-Rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Bolivia

Bolivian Ornate Tiger Beetle

Pometon bolivianus

Giant Water Frog

Telmatobius gigas

Brazil

Crowned Stinkhorn

Phallus aureolatus

Tapir’s Bark Polypore

Fomitiporia nubicola

Bhutan

White-Bellied Heron

Ardea insignis

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Central African Republic

Nubian Flapshell Turtle

Cyclanorbis elegans

Canada

American Burying Beetle

Nicrophorus americanus

Switzerland

Snowbank Slime Mold

Lamproderma disseminatum

China

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

White-Bellied Heron

Ardea insignis

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Cameroon

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Democratic Republic of the Congo

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Republic of the Congo

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Colombia

Amazonian Bolete

Austroboletus amazonicus

Elegant Sunburst Lichen

Rusavskia elegans

Gulbirus Ngas Tarantula

Tliltocatl schroederi

Mountain Tapir

Tapirus pinchaque

Sweet Home Alabama Crayfish

Cambarus speleocoopi

Costa Rica

Yellow Sea Snake

Hydrophis platurus subsp. xantho

Ecuador

Mountain Tapir

Tapirus pinchaque

Finland

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Fiji

Giant Fijian Longhorn Beetle

Xixuthrus heros

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

France

Snowbank Slime Mold

Lamproderma disseminatum

Gabon

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Ghana

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Nubian Flapshell Turtle

Cyclanorbis elegans

West African Slender-Snouted Crocodile

Mecistops cataphractus

Guinea

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Gambia

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Guinea Bissau

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Equatorial Guinea

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Croatia

Asterix Caddisfly

Ecclisopteryx asterix

Indonesia

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Hairy-Nosed Otter

Lutra sumatrana

Javan Green Magpie

Cissa thalassina

Javan Rhino

Rhinoceros sondaicus

Sulawesi Cardinal Shrimp

Caridina dennerli

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

India

Bengal Florican

Houbaropsis bengalensis

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Konkan Dipcadi

Dipcadi concanense

Lesser Florican

Sypheotides indicus

Neelakurinji

Strobilanthes kunthiana

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

White-Bellied Heron

Ardea insignis

White-Rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Italy

Asterix Caddisfly

Ecclisopteryx asterix

Primula Di Palinuro

Primula palinuri

Jamaica

Jamaican Rock Iguana

Cyclura collei

Japan

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Yanburu Kuina Feather Mite

Metanalges agachi

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Kazakhstan

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Kenya

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan Wild Tulip

Tulipa anadroma

Cambodia

Bengal Florican

Houbaropsis bengalensis

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

White-Rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

South Korea

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Laos

White-Rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Liberia

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

West African Slender-Snouted Crocodile

Mecistops cataphractus

Sri Lanka

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Madagascar

Bozibe

Adansonia perrieri

Lakamarefo

Ravenea louvelii

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Mexico

American Horseshoe Crab

Limulus polyphemus

Golf Ball Cactus

Mammillaria herrerae

Omiltemi Cottontail

Sylvilagus insonus

Pygmy Raccoon

Procyon pygmaeus

Vaquita Porpoise

Phocoena sinus

Mali

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Myanmar

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

White-Bellied Heron

Ardea insignis

White-Rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Mongolia

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Mauritania

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Malaysia

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Green Stomach Fungus

Chlorogaster dipterocarpi

Hairy-Nosed Otter

Lutra sumatrana

Raffles’ Banded Langur

Presbytis femoralis

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Namibia

African Penguin

Spheniscus demersus

New Caledonia

Barbie Pagoda

Podoserpula miranda

Niger

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Nigeria

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Nubian Flapshell Turtle

Cyclanorbis elegans

Nepal

Bengal Florican

Houbaropsis bengalensis

White-Rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Pakistan

White-Rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Peru

Mountain Tapir

Tapirus pinchaque

Philippines

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Papua New Guinea

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing

Ornithoptera alexandrae

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

North Korea

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Russia

Snowbank Slime Mold

Lamproderma disseminatum

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Rwanda

Rwanda Pygmy Waterlily

Nymphaea thermarum

Sudan

Nubian Flapshell Turtle

Cyclanorbis elegans

South Sudan

Nubian Flapshell Turtle

Cyclanorbis elegans

Senegal

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Sierra Leone

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Slovenia

Asterix Caddisfly

Ecclisopteryx asterix

Chad

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Nubian Flapshell Turtle

Cyclanorbis elegans

Togo

African Manatee

Trichechus senegalensis

Thailand

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Hairy-Nosed Otter

Lutra sumatrana

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Taiwan

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Uganda

Nubian Flapshell Turtle

Cyclanorbis elegans

United States of America

American Burying Beetle

Nicrophorus americanus

American Horseshoe Crab

Limulus polyphemus

Green Pitcher Plant

Sarracenia oreophila

Hoosier Cave Fish

Amblyopsis hoosieri

ʻŌhiʻa Lehua

Metrosideros polymorpha

Indiana Sooty-Spored Freshwater Fungus

Atromagnispora indianensis

Snowbank Slime Mold

Lamproderma disseminatum

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Vietnam

Bowmouth Guitarfish

Rhina ancylostomus

Hairy-Nosed Otter

Lutra sumatrana

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

South Africa

African Penguin

Spheniscus demersus

De Winton’s Golden Mole

Cryptochloris wintoni

Giant Quiver Tree

Aloidendron pillansii

Thorny Seahorse

Hippocampus histrix

Singapore

Raffles’ Banded Langur

Presbytis femoralis