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What is the greatest wildlife comeback story?

by YPB Team1 vote

Every animal here was once a few hundred individuals away from gone. Deciding which recovery counts as the greatest is harder than it sounds.

  1. Gray Wolf — ranked #11
    Gray Wolf
    Wiped out across most of the Lower 48 by the 1930s, then reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and now numbering in the thousands.
    1000pts
    DI
  2. Mountain Gorilla — ranked #22
    Mountain Gorilla
    Down to about 250 animals in the 1980s, now past 1,000 thanks to ranger patrols and tourism revenue in the Virungas.
    839pts
  3. Bald Eagle — ranked #33
    Bald Eagle
    Down to 417 nesting pairs in 1963 after DDT poisoning, it recovered past 70,000 pairs and left the endangered list in 2007.
    732pts
  4. Southern White Rhino — ranked #44
    Southern White Rhino
    Rebuilt from fewer than 100 survivors in a single South African reserve to well over 15,000 animals.
    732pts
  5. Humpback Whale — ranked #55
    Humpback Whale
    Hunted to roughly 5,000 animals before the 1966 whaling ban, now back above 100,000 worldwide.
    599pts
  6. Giant Panda — ranked #66
    Giant Panda
    China's reserve network and breeding programs lifted it off the endangered list in 2016 after wild numbers rose 17 percent in a decade.
    599pts
  7. Black-Footed Ferret — ranked #77
    Black-Footed Ferret
    Declared extinct twice before a Wyoming ranch dog found the last colony in 1981, the source of every ferret alive today.
    599pts
  8. Peregrine Falcon — ranked #88
    Peregrine Falcon
    DDT emptied the eastern United States of nesting pairs; captive releases restored the world's fastest bird by 1999.
    0pts
  9. American Bison — ranked #99
    American Bison
    Reduced from tens of millions to a few hundred animals by the 1880s, saved by ranchers and Yellowstone into herds half a million strong.
    0pts
  10. California Condor — ranked #1010
    California Condor
    Every wild bird was captured in 1987 leaving 27 alive; captive breeding has since pushed the population past 500.
    0pts
  11. Iberian Lynx — ranked #1111
    Iberian Lynx
    Fewer than 100 remained in 2002; captive breeding and rabbit restoration took it past 2,000 and off the endangered list in 2024.
    0pts
  12. American Alligator — ranked #1212
    American Alligator
    Listed as endangered in 1967 after decades of hide hunting, it recovered so fully it was delisted in 1987.
    0pts
  13. Sea Otter — ranked #1313
    Sea Otter
    Fur traders left perhaps 2,000 worldwide by 1911, and protected remnant colonies rebuilt the Pacific population.
    0pts
  14. Arabian Oryx — ranked #1414
    Arabian Oryx
    Extinct in the wild in 1972, reintroduced from zoo herds and the first species ever upgraded from Extinct in the Wild to Vulnerable.
    0pts
nature45animals43conservation3endangered species1

Comments

Four hundred and seventeen breeding pairs of bald eagles were left in 1963, and the bird was delisted in 2007. The wolf's recovery is still in committee: https://youpick.best/articles/the-wolf-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team·Aug 21·
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