The climate crisis and lately the failed climate summit in Copenhagen have been making the headlines of newspapers around Asia and the world; however, we have forgotten another crisis: the animal crisis. The loss of animal species in Asia, especially the large ones which are usually the most noticeable ones, is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, and just because of our current unsuitable human activities.

The IUCN Red List assessment for Asia includes 2,380 animal species threatened to vanish forever. It is very likely that within the last 500 years, we have lost already a considerable number of species that we did not have the time to inventory. The unknown but likely high loss of animals can be extrapolated from the considerable destruction of natural ecosystems across Asia.

Many large animals like mammals, turtles, and fishes are particularly on the spot light of imminent extinction. Most of the world’s threatened mammal species area mostly found in Asia. The world most diverse country for mammals is Indonesia (670 species), but at the same time, it holds a worrisome number of endangered mammals (184 species). China is also on the top of the endangered species list with 551 species of mammals threatened to become extinct in the near future. Many endangered animals that we are about to lose have fewer than 500 living individuals in the wild and have an extremely limited distribution range of less than 100 km². The Siamese crocodile Crocodylus siamensis is a good example with fewer than 250 adults surviving in Cambodia. For those animal species actions to save them should be urgent and sustainable.

The large animal crisis is just one side of the animal crisis. The small animal crisis is also very vivid in Asia but less studied and media oriented. Everybody is curious how the endangered panda from China is doing, but what about Alycaeus balingensis, a critically endangered small terrestrial gastropod found in the leaf-litter on the forest floor in Malaysia? It may well be that this unknown gastropod will vanish before the panda if no conservation program is conducted. In 2009 alone, 12 threatened species of mollucs from Malaysia were added to the IUCN Red List of threatened species, highlighting the decline of small animals. All of them live in fragile and very specialized habitat within vegetation occurring in rocky expanses of limestone with little surface water. Habitat destruction via limestone quarrying is driving them to extinction.

The Asian animal crisis is primarily fueled by continuous habitat loss and their exploitation for human use (e.g., food, medicine, ornamental). Global warming will play a greater role into increasing the risk of extinction in the near future, especially if we continue to lose suitable natural habitats like primary rainforests and wetlands for species to migrate to and allow them to adapt to rapid changes. Illegal poaching and trading of endangered animals is rampant in Asia. In Indonesia nearly every species of animal out of 230 on the country's endangered species list can be found at the capital's teeming market!

It is important to keep in mind that the current estimate of threatened species (2,380) in Asia is well below that true number, just for the simple reason that we know and assessed a small percentage of what remains! Time is running out and it is time for action. On-the-ground local communities should be the ones to set the conservation agenda, not distant institutions, and successfully protect threatened animals and wild places with the support of scientists and the rest of us.