What is the greatest wildlife comeback story?

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

Wiped out across most of the Lower 48 by the 1930s, then reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and now numbering in the thousands.

2

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.

3

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.

4

California Condor

Every wild bird was captured in 1987 leaving 27 alive; captive breeding has since pushed the population past 500.

5

Humpback Whale

Hunted to roughly 5,000 animals before the 1966 whaling ban, now back above 100,000 worldwide.

6

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.

7

Southern White Rhino

Rebuilt from fewer than 100 survivors in a single South African reserve to well over 15,000 animals.

8

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.

9

American Alligator

Listed as endangered in 1967 after decades of hide hunting, it recovered so fully it was delisted in 1987.

10

Black-Footed Ferret

Declared extinct twice before a Wyoming ranch dog found the last colony in 1981, the source of every ferret alive today.

11

Peregrine Falcon

DDT emptied the eastern United States of nesting pairs; captive releases restored the world's fastest bird by 1999.

12

Sea Otter

Fur traders left perhaps 2,000 worldwide by 1911, and protected remnant colonies rebuilt the Pacific population.

13

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.

14

Mountain Gorilla

Down to about 250 animals in the 1980s, now past 1,000 thanks to ranger patrols and tourism revenue in the Virungas.