“Wildlife species in Vietnam, including elephants, rhinoceroses, and tigers, face significant threats from habitat loss and are classified as endangered.”

Once being abundant in Viet Nam, the population of the iconic Asian elephants has been reduced to a few hundreds. Sadly, Viet Nam is a major source, transit and end destination for trafficked wildlife. WWF-Viet Nam is focusing its conservation efforts on Elephants and Saolas.

The updated 2024 Viet Nam Red Book, compiled and released in two volumes, lists 1,398 threatened species, a significant increase from 836 in the 2007 version. This research also noted that five animal species are now extinct (EX) or extinct in the wild (EW) in Viet Nam, including the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus).

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is ranked as endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but its status in Vietnam is critically endangered. The population is estimated at only about 100-114 individuals, scattered in small, isolated groups across eight provinces. These groups face a high threat of extinction due to habitat loss/degradation and increasing human-elephant conflict.

The updated 2024 Viet Nam Red Data Book and Red List show a significant increase in threatened species, from 836 to 1,398, with the number of animal species increasing by 354. The study also recorded five animal species that have become extinct (EX) or extinct in the wild (EW) in Viet Nam, including the Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus).

Asia's Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and Sumatran (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) rhinos remain Critically Endangered, with only 50 Javan rhinos and an estimated 34-47 Sumatran rhinos surviving globally by early 2025. The significant loss of 26 Javan rhinos to poaching between 2019 and 2023, equal to one-third of the known population, has severely impacted the species and increased its risk of extinction.

Elephants in Vietnam are critically endangered, with populations fragmented and declining due to habitat destruction and poaching. Vietnam's wild elephant population, which numbered around 2,000 in 1980, has plummeted to between 91 and 129 by 2022. The conflict between elephants and humans, exacerbated by habitat loss and agricultural expansion, poses a significant threat to their survival.

The Vietnamese government finalized its new National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) to 2030 with a vision to 2050, emphasizing the conservation and restoration of ecosystems and endangered, rare, and precious wildlife species. The plan sets out key tasks such as intensifying biodiversity conservation, restoring endangered wild species, and controlling activities harmful to biodiversity.

Wild elephants in Vietnam are facing a real risk of extinction, with fewer than 200 remaining across the country. The Asian elephant is ranked as endangered on the IUCN Red List and critically threatened, requiring global cooperation for survival, with habitat loss being a significant factor.

Vietnam's wild elephants are edging toward peril with dwindling numbers and shrinking forest homes, facing a real risk of extinction. The country now has fewer than 200 wild elephants scattered across several provinces, and ongoing threats include shrinking forest areas, small and fragmented elephant populations, and increasing pressures on their habitats.

The Indochinese Tiger subspecies (Panthera tigris corbetti) is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, with less than 250 individuals estimated to remain in the wild across its range. In Viet Nam, tigers have not been photographed by camera trap since 1997, and illegal hunting for tiger body parts and habitat loss are identified as the biggest threats to their survival.

As of October 2025, fewer than 200 wild elephants remain across Vietnam, scattered in several provinces, facing critical threats. Conservation efforts are challenged by shrinking natural forest areas, fragmented habitats, and small elephant populations, which heighten the risk of extinction.

Vietnamese elephants are currently listed as critically endangered in the Red Book of Vietnam and included in Annex I of CITES, with their numbers declining due to a decrease in areas with elephants and fragmented populations. In the Red book of Vietnam, elephants were listed as 'Vulnerable' in 1992, indicating a worsening status.

The number of elephants in Vietnam is currently below 200 individuals, scattered across several provinces, according to the Department of Forestry and Forest Protection. This is a critical warning for elephant conservation in Vietnam, as the Asian elephant population is severely declining in both numbers and habitat.

According to the Vietnam Red List, in 1990, the elephant population in Vietnam was estimated at 1000-1500 individuals. However, 19 years later, the number of individuals was less than 200, mainly concentrated in Dak Lak. Scientists explain that in some areas where elephants live, the area of natural forest has declined.

WWF and the International Rhino Foundation confirmed the extinction of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) in Vietnam in October 2011, with genetic analysis showing the last individual was found dead in Cat Tien National Park in April 2010. Habitat loss played a key role in the rhino's fate, alongside inadequate law enforcement and poaching.

Vietnam's wild tiger population has seemingly vanished from the wild after 26 years, with the last documented photograph of a wild tiger captured in 1998. Extensive camera trap surveys between 2019 and 2023 across 21 nature reserves failed to detect any tigers, leading scientists to believe they have disappeared from the country.

In Dong Nai province, efforts including building electric fencing, reducing human-elephant conflict, and public awareness campaigns have led to a more stable local elephant population showing signs of growth. However, human-elephant conflict remains a pressing challenge requiring stronger action.

First and foremost is habitat loss. As Vietnam has rapidly developed over the last few decades, forests have been cleared to make way for farms, rubber plantations, and expanding towns. Today, it is estimated that fewer than 100 wild elephants remain in the entire country.

Aerial bombing, napalm, and chemical defoliants like Agent Orange destroyed up to 30% of Vietnam's forests, wiping out critical habitat for species like the Indochinese tiger.

The wild elephant population in Vietnam has seen a catastrophic fall, declining from an estimated 1,500-2,000 in 1990 to just double figures today. This decline is attributed to deforestation from logging, forest clearance for agriculture, capture for domestication, human-elephant conflict, ivory poaching, and forest fires, which have isolated herds into unviable population units.

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in Vietnam, both wild and domesticated, is becoming increasingly endangered, facing extinction without urgent conservation action. The population has rapidly fallen due to poisoning (from Agent Orange, napalm, and other defoliants during the Vietnam War), hunting, deforestation, and habitat loss.

Many experts believe that wild tigers may have already disappeared from Vietnam, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimating fewer than 5 individuals in 2015. The last rhino in Vietnam was lost, raising concerns that the tiger might follow.

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is classified as Endangered globally and specifically in Vietnam due to habitat loss, poaching, and human-elephant conflict. The Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) is functionally extinct in Vietnam, previously Endangered. The Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) population in Vietnam went extinct in 2010, globally Critically Endangered.

Illegal logging, forest burning for agricultural development, combined with illegal hunting, have caused severe habitat loss for tigers. WWF data from 2016 estimated about 5 wild tigers in Vietnam, but this was a prediction as no images of the species had been recorded at that time, suggesting they may have disappeared from the wild for over two decades.