The mammals of Rwanda: continuous review of occurrences and checklists

We are interested in publishing research about the mammals of Rwanda. For about a century, up to the 1990s, studies of Rwanda's mammals have been conducted with limited opportunities for local capacity building. This resulted in limited data accessibility due to inefficient archiving, ever-changing taxonomic information, a shortage of local facilities for mammal research, and a lack of collaborative mechanisms for data and knowledge sharing. An effective capacity-building opportunity for local researchers dates back to 2009, involving non-volant small mammals from Nyungwe National Park, a tropical forest in southwestern Rwanda. Later, commitment from researchers and institutions led to more mammal surveys, with the involvement of local researchers and contributors recognized. Here we present the state of Rwanda's mammals, covering taxonomic and fieldwork results from 2009 to the present, and evaluating past records and recent research and fieldwork findings. The results we present here have been compiled and analyzed since 2020, with a focus on their contribution to updating the records of Rwanda’s mammals in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. As of February 2026, we recognize 215 mammal species most likely present in Rwanda, with the following Red List country legend tags: Present (195), Reintroduced (2), Introduced (3), and Possibly Extant (15). Still, most species require further monitoring and field research to verify and validate their occurrence. Furthermore, we recognize 24 as Presence Uncertain, one as Possibly Extinct, and five as Extinct. Our assessment indicates 38 novel records of mammal species that need to be updated at the IUCN Red List to reflect their presence in Rwanda. We are committed to updating this information at least every 3 years, based on new research findings. More Rwanda mammal data and field records will be continuously fed into the Rwanda Biodiversity Information System (RBIS), an online open database accessible at https://rbis.ur.ac.rw/. These results contribute to the IUCN Red List assessments, national biodiversity action plans, mammal taxonomic science, field research and practice, and, ultimately, to conservation action plans and interventions for mammals.