5 Endangered Animals in England

Our native biodiversity is in decline. The State of Nature Report, 2013, shows that 16% of the UK’s species are classified as threatened, with one in six at risk of extinction. The report states that the UK is one of the world’s most nature-depleted areas. 

ZooLab is passionate about raising awareness of our region's endangered animals. This is the second post in our new series, exploring each UK county and spotlighting at-risk species, as well as the conservation efforts to protect them. This time, we look at endangered animals in England.

5 Endangered Animals in England

The Greater Mouse-Eared Bat

Let’s start with a lonely giant: the greater mouse-eared bat, is Europe’s largest bat and Britain's rarest mammal. 

It is so rare that it was thought to be extinct. In 2002, a single male was spotted hibernating in a disused railway tunnel in Sussex. A year later, another male was found in a tunnel, and in 2025, a female was discovered. It is thought that these species may be crossing the channel from France to hibernate here. The UK population is thought to be 2. 

Conservation Efforts: 

Disturbance and habitat loss are huge threats to UK bat species. Natural England’s Species Recovery Team has funded a project for the Vincent Wildlife Trust to support UK populations by protecting roosts, monitoring their populations, and exploring the possibility of reintroduction.  Daniel Hargreaves from the Vincent Wildlife Trust states, “By providing suitable roosts, restoring habitats and reducing anthropogenic threats such as artificial light and noise, this species might just stand a chance of recovering.”

The Horrid Ground-Weaver Spider

Found nowhere else in the world but (now) two abandoned limestone quarries around Plymouth, the horrid ground-weaver spider is critically endangered.

This tiny spider is at great risk. With one site already lost to development, habitat destruction is a current reality with both others facing development.  This has led to the horrid ground-weaver being titled ‘one of the rarest spiders in the world’ by BugLife.

Conservation Efforts: 

BugLife  has orchestrated campaigns to protect the horrid ground-weaver. 

In 2015, BugLife and other organisations, along with local groups, helped to halt a housing development being built on Radford Quarry, protecting not only the horrid ground-weaver but also threatened butterflies and bats. 

In 2017, Buglife worked with Plymouth City Council to reroute and create a new cycle path to avoid habitat distribution in Billacombe.

Unfortunately, in 2025, BugLife had to appeal to Plymouth Council again due to campsites and Christmas markets being held near the spiders in Radford Quarry.

New Forest cicada

The New Forest cicada is/was the UK’s only native cicada, which lived across Hampshire’s New Forest. Once a population of over 100, this species is thought to be extinct in the area, with the last confirmed sighting of the species being in the 1990s.

The Species Recovery Trust believes that habitat loss and land management in the forest has resulted in a decline of the species. 

Conservation Efforts: 

A reintroduced project led by Species Recovery Trust has seen 11 cicadas from Slovenia introduced to a specially created area. Young cicadas spend years underground and it is hoped that once they reemerge, they can be released in secret locations throughout the New Forest to bring the species back to life in the park. Read more on the reintroduction.  

Sand Lizard 

Sand lizards are the UK’s rarest lizard and a protected species under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. Sand lizards require special sand dune and heathland habitats, which are themselves in decline in the UK. This has resulted in fragmentation, with the species only residing naturally in protected sites in Dorset, Hampshire, Merseyside, and Surrey.  

Conservation Efforts: 

Hundreds of sand lizards have been reintroduced to the South East, South West, Lancashire, and Wales as part of a collaboration between wildlife organisations, including the Wildlife Trusts, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Forestry Commission, and Marwell Zoo. Conservationists have been able to replicate the habitat of sand lizards through restoration and effective land management. Together with education programmes, it’s hoped that sand lizard populations will increase. 

Natterjack Toads

Once widespread with larger populations, 80% of natterjack toad populations have been lost in the last century.  The remaining 50 populations can be found in coastal sand, salt marsh, and lowland heath in southeast England, northwest England, East Anglia, and a single colony in Cumbria. Decline is due to several factors, including habitat loss, agriculture, fragmentation, urbanisation, and climate change.

Conservation Efforts: 

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation works on protecting and linking existing sites, while providing new territories by creating shallow ponds and restoring heathlands. In 2021, 28 toadlets were released in South Downs National Park as part of a reintroduction programme to help the species make a comeback. 

These animals are all adapted to their own unique environments within England. To learn more, check out our Habitats and Adaptations workshops.