A drive to protect some of the world's most bizarre and unusual animals, many of which are being completely ignored by current international conservation efforts, has got underway.

The move by the Zoological Society of London focuses on the most threatened animals, such as the tiny slender loris and is called EDGE, which stands for Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered. Edge animals are those with few close relatives and are highly distinct genetically. These animals are also extremely endangered and in desperate need of immediate action to save them from becoming extinct.

The program focuses on animals that have unique evolutionary histories and face immediate risk of extinction. The project combined existing data on species relatedness and threat status to develop a list of a hundred top animals.

Among the animals to be protected are the Yangtze River dolphin (thought to already be extinct), the long-beaked echidna, the Hispaniolan solenodon, the bactrian camel, the pygmy hippopotamus, the hicola antelope, the golden-rumped elephant shrew, the bumblebee bat and the long-eared jerboa.

EDGE will raise awareness of the animals and their plights, fund research studying the species in their natural habitats, and then help execute conservation plans.