Ireland’s largest bookmaker Paddy Power are taking bets on the estimated global polar bear population on 31 December 2011 according to the world's largest independent conservation organization, the WWF.

An historic agreement signed in 1973 which obliges artic states to protect their polar bear populations, is forcing countries to take action against climate change to prevent further degradation of polar bear habitats.

The Lemur is a curious looking animal, and one that not many people ever see as they are quite reclusive. In the last 30 years its population in the wild has decreased by 30%, due mainly to the compromise of its natural habitat by expanding towns and farms in its homeland of Madagascar. But you can sponsor or adopt a Lemur, through the Aspinall Foundation, quickly and easily online, and help protect them.

Research suggests the shy and elusive Bush Dog, or Savannah or Vinegar Dog, as it is also known, is threatened with extinction. Human activities, such farming and the suburban expansion of cities in South America, are the main reason its habitat is slowly disappearing. It is estimated that fewer the 15,000 mature adult Bush dogs now exist in the wild. It has never been more important to protect this dwindling species through adoption or sponsorship.

The Javan Langur monkey, found mostly in the mangrove, beach and freshwater swamp forests of Indonesia, is in danger of extinction. It has never been more important to protect this striking animal. And you can do so today through the Aspinall Foundation - by adopting a monkey quickly and easily online.

If you are looking for an unusual animal to sponsor or adopt, then a Tapir could be just what you are looking for. Their closest relatives are the rhino or the horse. They have few natural predators because they are so large, but human activities, such as deforestation and planned flooding for hydroelectric projects are the main cause of their decline. You can adopt or sponsor a Tapir quickly and easily online.

Research suggests that numbers of the Red Panda, or Firefox, as it is also known, are in serious decline. In fact, the Red Panda is considered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to be vulnerable to extinction. The main threats to the Red Panda’s existence are deforestation and poaching. There is now an estimated population of only 2,000. It has never been more important to protect this striking species. Why not do so today through the Aspinall Foundation?

Named after the French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, De Brazza's monkeys are normally resident in the central wetlands of Africa. The de Brazza is set apart among other monkeys by the distinctive crescent of red on its forehead, and the white stripes along its thighs. You can play a part in protecting this beautiful species from extinction today, by sponsoring or adopting one through the Aspinall Foundation.

Due to inbreeding, and farmers' mistaken impression that they eat their livestock, numbers of Cheetahs in the wild have long been in serious decline. Sponsor or adopt a cheetah today here

From being the most numerous Rhino in the world in the early 1900s, the population of Black Rhinos had plummeted to just 4,000.

It’s never been so important to sponsor or adopt a rhino through organisations such as the Aspinall Foundation.