Endangered Species in Bolivia

Bolivia’s landscapes — from Andean highlands to Amazon foothills — support a huge variety of wildlife, but many species face growing pressures from habitat loss, climate shifts, and human activity. Understanding which animals are at risk helps focus conservation and community efforts where they matter most.

There are 34 Endangered Species in Bolivia, ranging from Andean Cat to Yungas Pygmy Owl. For each species you’ll find below entries organized with Scientific name,IUCN status,Range in Bolivia, so you can quickly see taxonomy, conservation ranking, and where they occur — you’ll find below.

What criteria determine if a species in Bolivia is listed as endangered?

Listings usually follow IUCN criteria (population size and trend, range extent, and degree of fragmentation) and are informed by national assessments, field surveys, and threat analyses; a species becomes “endangered” when evidence shows a high risk of extinction without intervention.

How can locals and visitors help protect Bolivia’s endangered species?

Support measures that reduce habitat loss and disturbance: respect protected-area rules, avoid buying wildlife products, report sightings to local authorities or research groups, and back community-led conservation programs that combine livelihoods with habitat protection.

Endangered Species in Bolivia

Images and Descriptions

Blue-throated Macaw

A critically endangered macaw endemic to Bolivia’s Beni savanna. Decimated by the pet trade, its survival now depends on protecting its nesting trees (Motacú palms) from cattle ranching and using artificial nest boxes provided by conservation projects.

Red-fronted Macaw

Endemic to Bolivia’s dry inter-Andean valleys, this macaw is threatened by illegal trapping for the pet trade and the conversion of its habitat to agriculture. Conservation focuses on community-based nest protection and alternative livelihood programs.

Titicaca Water Frog

Known as the ‘scrotum frog’ for its saggy skin, which helps it breathe in the high-altitude lake. It is critically endangered due to pollution, introduced trout that prey on its tadpoles, and over-harvesting for supposedly medicinal juices.

Sehuencas Water Frog

Famous for “Romeo,” once thought to be the last of his kind. This frog from Andean cloud forest streams is on the brink of extinction due to the deadly chytrid fungus, pollution, and habitat loss. Captive breeding offers a sliver of hope.

Andean Cat

A small, elusive wild cat, considered a sacred animal in Andean cultures. It lives above the treeline in rocky, arid habitats, threatened by habitat loss, declining prey, and retaliatory killing, making it one of the most threatened cats in the Americas.

Giant Otter

The world’s longest otter, this social predator lives in lowland rivers and is a key indicator of ecosystem health. It faces threats from mercury pollution from gold mining, habitat destruction, and conflict with fishermen over fish stocks.

White-bellied Spider Monkey

A large, agile primate of the Amazonian canopy, crucial for seed dispersal. Its populations are declining rapidly due to intense hunting pressure for bushmeat and habitat fragmentation from road construction, logging, and agricultural expansion.

Bolivian River Dolphin

A unique freshwater dolphin species found only in Bolivian rivers, isolated from other dolphins by rapids. It is endangered by dam construction, mercury poisoning from mining, and accidental entanglement in fishing nets.

Queen of the Andes

The world’s largest bromeliad, this spectacular plant flowers only once after 80-100 years before dying. It is endangered by climate change altering its high-altitude habitat, frequent fires, and livestock grazing that destroys young plants.

Horned Curassow

A large, distinctive bird with a unique horn-like casque on its head. It is critically endangered due to over-hunting and severe habitat loss in the cloud forests it inhabits, making it one of the rarest birds in South America.

La-Posta’s Toad

A critically endangered aquatic toad endemic to a very small area of inter-Andean valleys. Its survival is threatened by extreme habitat degradation, including water contamination from agriculture and domestic waste, and diversion of streams for irrigation.

Long-haired Spider Monkey

This highly social primate lives in the upper canopy of undisturbed Amazonian rainforests. It is endangered due to its low reproductive rate, sensitivity to logging, and being a primary target for subsistence hunting across its range.

Bolivian Spiny-rat

A poorly known rodent endemic to the Cerrado grasslands and dry forests of eastern Bolivia. It is considered endangered due to the rapid and extensive conversion of its natural habitat for industrial agriculture, particularly soy cultivation and cattle ranching.

Grey-bellied Antpitta

A terrestrial bird of the Amazon understory, threatened by severe habitat fragmentation. Its reluctance to cross open areas makes it extremely vulnerable to deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture, isolating its small populations.

Black-faced Black Spider Monkey

A key species for forest regeneration through seed dispersal. It is highly threatened by hunting pressure and habitat fragmentation from expanding agriculture and road development, which makes remote forest areas accessible to hunters.

Bolivian Kissing Bug

While a vector for Chagas disease, this insect is endangered itself due to a very restricted range in the Andean foothills. Its rocky habitat is being degraded by advancing agriculture, urbanization, and changes in land use.

Cochabamba Mountain Finch

An endemic Bolivian bird living in high-altitude Polylepis woodlands. It is endangered because its specialized forest habitat is highly fragmented and shrinking due to timber harvesting, burning for pasture, and heavy grazing.

Sclater’s Cassique

A rare and poorly known bird that inhabits riverine forests in the western Amazon. It is threatened by ongoing deforestation within its small range for cattle ranching and agriculture, as well as infrastructure development.

Palkachupa Cotinga

An endemic bird found only in the savanna grasslands of the Apolo area. Its small population is endangered by the annual burning of pastures for cattle ranching, which destroys its nesting and foraging habitat.

Yungas Antwren

A small, little-known bird found in the understory of the humid Yungas cloud forests. It is considered endangered due to its small range, which is under severe pressure from deforestation for agriculture, particularly coca and citrus cultivation.

Splendid Annual Killifish

A critically endangered fish endemic to temporary pools in the Chiquitano region. Its entire existence is tied to seasonal ponds which are being rapidly destroyed and polluted by the expansion of large-scale agriculture and cattle ranching.

Tiraque Catfish

This catfish is critically endangered and possibly extinct, known only from a single river system in the high Andes. The primary threats are severe water pollution from nearby towns and agricultural runoff, completely degrading its only known habitat.

Bolivian Endemic Killifish

A small, colorful annual fish living in temporary pools of the upper Paraguay River basin. It is critically endangered because its ephemeral habitat is being systematically drained and converted for soybean cultivation and cattle pasture.

Big-bellied Organpipe Cactus

A globular cactus with beautiful, large flowers, found in inter-Andean dry valleys. It is endangered by land use change for agriculture and goat farming, which degrades its habitat, and illegal collection for the ornamental plant trade.

Yaguaracarpus

A critically endangered plant, the only species in its genus, known from a single location in the Chiquitano dry forest. This unique shrub is severely threatened by habitat destruction due to agricultural expansion and increased fire frequency.

Rosewood

A large Amazonian tree prized for its essential oil (linalool), used in perfumes. Decades of over-exploitation for the fragrance industry have decimated its populations, and illegal logging continues to be a major threat to its survival.

Spanish Cedar

A highly valued timber tree found across Bolivia’s humid forests. It is endangered due to a long history of selective and often illegal logging. Its natural regeneration is poor, making it slow to recover from exploitation.

Roboré Tree

A large tree from dry and Amazonian forests, valued for its durable, aromatic timber used in furniture and construction. Widespread and often illegal logging has led to a significant decline in its population, making it endangered.

Peruvian Pepper Tree

A tree native to dry Andean valleys, known for its pink “peppercorns.” It is endangered due to extensive habitat loss from agricultural expansion and wood extraction for fuel and fence posts in densely populated rural areas.

Berlepsch’s Tinamou

A ground-dwelling bird of the Amazon rainforest understory, this species is very poorly known. It is considered endangered due to its small predicted range, which is experiencing high rates of deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture.

Black-chested Tyrant

A small flycatcher from the northern Bolivian Amazon. Its population is declining and considered endangered due to accelerating deforestation within its limited range, primarily driven by cattle ranching and slash-and-burn agriculture.

Bolivian Tree Opossum

A recently recognized species of marsupial living in the humid montane forests of the Yungas. It is classified as endangered due to its small, restricted range that is undergoing rapid deforestation for agriculture and human settlement.

Ashy Antwren

A small insectivorous bird that forages in the lower levels of humid forests in northern Bolivia. It is endangered because of its very small range which is threatened by ongoing habitat loss due to agricultural expansion.

Yungas Pygmy Owl

A small owl endemic to the humid montane forests of Bolivia. Its population is believed to be small and declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation caused by the conversion of forests to agriculture and for logging.

Endangered Species in Other Countries