List of carnivorans by population


This is a list of estimated global populations of Carnivora species. This list is not comprehensive, as not all carnivorans have had their numbers quantified.

List

Common nameBinomial namePopulationStatusTrendNotesImage
Red wolfCanis rufus20-30Previously extinct in the wild. Reintroduction efforts have been hampered by hybridization with coyotes.
Iriomote catPrionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis100–109A subspecies of the leopard cat living exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote. Population size is declining, and consists of a single subpopulation.
Amur leopardPanthera pardus orientalis129-130Subspecies of leopard. Numbers have fluctuated in recent censuses. Newest estimate of mature individuals comes from IUCN Assessment for P. pardus.
Saimaa ringed sealPusa hispida saimensis135-190Subspecies of ringed seal. Total population was estimated to be 320 individuals in 2015.
Asiatic lionPanthera leo leo175Total population size is estimated to be 350 individuals.
Cozumel raccoon
Procyon pygmaeus192Total population is estimated to be 323-955 individuals. Populations are severely affected by hurricanes.
Ethiopian wolfCanis simensis197Total population is estimated to be 360-440 adults.
Black-footed ferretMustela nigripes206Value given is for number of mature adults living in self-sustaining wild populations. More than 300 individuals are currently held in captive breeding programs.
Malabar large-spotted civet
Viverra civettina249Maximum estimate; may be extinct.
Siberian tigerPanthera tigris tigris265-486Subspecies of tiger. Population size and trend are available in the supplementary information available on the P. tigris assessment.
Mediterranean monk sealMonachus monachus444-600Values given are for mature individuals. There are three primary subpopulations:
Persian leopardPanthera pardus tulliana450-626Subspecies of leopard. Total population is estimated to be 750–1,044 individuals.
Giant pandaAiluropoda melanoleuca500-1,000Total population is estimated to be 1,864 individuals.
Iberian lynxLynx pardinus648Total population is estimated to be 1,668 individuals.
Darwin's foxPseudalopex fulvipes659-2,499Minimum number of mature individuals is expected to be 489. No upper limit presented.
Hawaiian monk sealNeomonachus schauinslandi922Total population is estimated to be 1,607 individuals.
DholeCuon alpinus949-2,215Total population is estimated to be 4,500–10,500 individuals. Population estimates were calculated assuming proportion of mature individuals in population is similar to that of African wild dogs.
Chinese mountain catFelis bieti1,177-23,540Total population is estimated to be 2,354–47,081 individuals, though a best estimate is expected to be < 10,000 mature individuals.
African wild dogLycaon pictus1,676Value given is for number of mature individuals.
Andean mountain catLeopardus jacobita2,177Total population is estimated to be 4,354 individuals.
Bay cat
Catopuma badia2,200Value given is for number of mature individuals.
Spectacled bear
Tremarctos ornatus2,500-10,000Total population is estimated to be 13,000-18,000 individuals.
TigerPanthera tigris2,608-3,905Best estimate for number of mature individuals is 3,140. Total population is estimated to be 3,726-5,578 individuals, not including cubs.
Fossa
Cryptoprocta ferox2,635-8,626Values given are for number of mature individuals.
Grandidier's mongoose
Galidictis grandidieri2,650–3,540Values given are estimate for total population, ca. 2006.
Snow leopardPanthera uncia2,710-3,386Most recent "best guess" estimate for total population is 3,920-6,390 individuals, from 2013.
New Zealand sea lionPhocarctos hookeri3,031Value given is for number of mature individuals.
Clouded leopardNeofelis nebulosa3,700Total population is estimated to be 5,580 individuals.
Island foxUrocyon littoralis4,001Total population is estimated to be 5,500 individuals.
Brown hyena
Parahyaena brunnea4,365-10,111Values given are for number of mature individuals. Total population is expected to be, at minimum, 5,000-8,000 individuals, though the Botswanan population may have several thousand individuals not considered.
Sunda clouded leopardNeofelis diardi4,500Value given is for number of mature individuals, with an estimated 3,800 on Borneo and 730 on Sumatra.
Striped hyena
Hyaena hyaena5,000-9,999Total population is estimated to be 5,000-14,000 individuals, ca. 1998.
Giant otterPteronura brasiliensis>6,450Value given is absolute minimum for total population. Estimates are not available for all subpopulations.
Australian sea lionNeophoca cinerea6,500Total population is estimated to be 12,690 individuals.
CheetahAcinonyx jubatus6,517Total population of adults and adolescents is estimated to be 7,100 individuals.
Galápagos sea lionZalophus wollebaeki9,200-10,600Total population is estimated to be 14,000-16,000.
Hoary foxLycalopex vetulus9,840-19,200Total population is estimated to be 49,200-96,000 individuals.
Galápagos fur sealArctocephalus galapagoensis10,000Total population is estimated to be 15,000 individuals.
Guadalupe fur sealArctocephalus townsendi10,000Minimum total population is estimated to be 20,084 individuals.
Pale foxVulpes pallida10,000-19,999?Values given are estimate of mature population, though this estimate may not be founded in empirical data.
Sloth bearMelursus ursinus10,000-20,000Values given are for total population; estimates are considered to be tentative.
Marbled catPardofelis marmorata>10,000Value given is for number of mature individuals, assuming population densities are not exceptionally low across range.
Sechuran foxLycalopex sechurae< 15,000?Value given is for number of mature individuals, but estimate is supported by very little data.
Juan Fernández fur sealArctocephalus philippii16,000Value given is for number of mature individuals.
Maned wolfChrysocyon brachyurus23,600?Total population is estimated to be 23,600 individuals.
Leopard sealHydrurga leptonyx18,000?Total population is estimated to be 35,500 individuals.
Polar bearUrsus maritimus22,000-31,000?Values given are for total population. Best estimate for total population is 26,000 individuals.
LionPanthera leo22,670-25,670Values given are estimates for number of adults and subadults.
Kodkod
Leopardus guigna26,383-101,294?Values given are for number of mature individuals.
Spotted hyena
Crocuta crocuta27,000–47,000Values given are a tentative estimate of total population.
Tibetan foxVulpes ferrilata37,000?Value given is for total population, but is from 1989 and considered to be "very coarse and unreliable."
Ross sealOmmatophoca rossii40,000?Estimates for total population are highly variable. Most recent estimate estimates 78,500 total individuals.
Asian black bear
Ursus thibetanus50,000-61,000Values given are estimate of total population is the four countries with the largest populations. Likely to be a considerable underestimate, given known populations across south and east Asia.
Baikal sealPusa sibirica54,000Total population is estimated to be 108,200 individuals.
JaguarPanthera onca64,000Value given is for total population. A single large population in Amazonia is estimated to account for 89% of total population, with 57,000 individuals.
Caspian sealPusa caspica68,000?Value given is for mature individuals. Total population is highly uncertain.
Eurasian lynxLynx lynx>69,510Value given is an underestimate of total population, due to unknown populations across large portions of the species' Asian range. National/regional population estimates are available for Europe, Russia, China, and Mongolia.
Steller sea lionEumetopias jubatus81,327Total population is estimated to be 160,867 individuals. Divided by subspecies:
  • Western
  • Loughlin's.
New Zealand fur sealArctocephalus forsteri100,000Total population is estimated to be 200,000 individuals.
South American fur sealArctocephalus australis109,500Total population is estimated to be 219,000 individuals.
Bush dogSpeothos venaticus110,000Value given is for total population; may be an overestimate.
Northern elephant sealMirounga angustirostris110,000Total population is estimated to be 210,000-239,000 individuals.
Brown bearUrsus arctos110,000Total population is estimated to be more than 200,000 individuals. Regional estimates exist for several areas:
  • Russia: >100,000
  • United States: 33,000
  • Canada: 25,000
  • Europe : 15,400.
    • WalrusOdobenus rosmarus112,500?Total population is estimated to be more than 245,000-295,000 individuals, in two subspecies:
  • Pacific : 200,000-250,000
  • Atlantic : >45,000
    • Sea otterEnhydra lutris128,902Value given is for total population.
    LeopardPanthera pardus146,768- 461,512Values given are estimate of total population.
    California sea lionZalophus californianus180,000Total population is estimated to be 387,646 individuals.
    Ribbon sealHistriophoca fasciata183,000?Total population is estimated to be approximately 365,000 individuals.
    Subantarctic fur sealArctocephalus tropicalis200,000Total population is estimated to be more than 400,000 individuals.
    Grey wolfCanis lupus200,000-250,000Values given are for total population.
    South American sea lionOtaria flavescens222,500Total population is estimated to be, at least, 445,000 individuals. IUCN gives binomial name as Otaria byronia.
    Weddell sealLeptonychotes weddellii300,000?Species is widespread and range is difficult to cover in a survey. Total population is estimated to be between 200,000 and 1.0 million individuals.
    Arctic foxVulpes lagopus300,000-999,999Total population is estimated to number "several hundred thousand animals," with population fluctuating significantly with prey populations.
    Harbor sealPhoca vitulina315,000?Total population is estimated to be 610,000-640,000 individuals.
    Grey sealHalichoerus grypus316,000Total population is estimated to be 632,000 individuals.
    Hooded sealCystophora cristata316,832Value given is estimated total population from two subpopulations:
  • Northeast Atlantic: 76,832 individuals
  • Northwest Atlantic: 240,000 individuals, assuming decline of 60% from 2005.
    • Spotted sealPhoca largha320,000?Total population has not been well quantified, but may be between 400,000-640,000 individuals.
    Southern elephant sealMirounga leonina325,000Total population is estimated to be 650,000 individuals, ca. mid 1990s.
    Northern fur sealCallorhinus ursinus650,000Total population is estimated to be 1.29 million individuals.
    Antarctic fur sealArctocephalus gazella700,000-1,000,000Values given are for mature individuals.
    American black bearUrsus americanus850,000–950,000Values given are for total population.
    Brown fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus1,060,000Divided into two subspecies: Cape and Australian.
    Ringed sealPusa hispida1,500,000?Value given is for mature individuals. Mature populations for subspecies are estimated to be:
    • Arctic : 1.45 million
    • Okhotsk : 44,000
    • Baltic : 11,500
    • Ladoga : 3,000-4,500
    • Saimma : 135-190
    BobcatLynx rufus2,352,276 - 3,571,681Values given are total population for species range in the United States. Population is certainly much larger, considering sizeable population also exist in Canada and Mexico.
    Crabeater sealLobodon carcinophaga4,000,000?Value given is for number of mature individuals. Most recent estimate of total population yielded an estimate of 9.5 million individuals.
    Harp sealPagophilus groenlandicus7,000,000Value given is for total population.
    Cat Felis catus600,000,000Domesticated2007 estimate
    Dog Canis familiaris900,000,000Domesticated