6 Animals that Were Revived Back through Conservation

Researchers say that we are experiencing a mass extinction, what they call the Holocene extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has tagged 17,291 animal species as threated, ad this is just a fraction of the animals that have been assessed. Despite these numbers, there are a few success stories. Below are a few animals that have actually been conserved and successfully returned from extinction.

Bald Eagle

America’s most iconic bird almost became extinct during the early 1950’s with only 412 nesting pairs found in the wild. One of the main reasons for the decline of their population is the wide use of DDT pesticide in the farms. DDT has been banned in the 70’s and the conservation of these majestic birds started to yield positive results. Currently, there are more or less 10,000 breeding pairs in the wild. The Bald Eagle has also been taken out of the endangered species list in 1995.

Black-Footed Ferret

This specie had literally come back from extinction. The Black-footed ferret was declared extinct during the 70’s. Fortunately, there was a small population that was discovered in a small part of Wyoming. A breeding program in captivity was initiated for the remaining few 18 individuals. Even with the small odds, a number of ferrets were successfully produced and were introduced back to the wild. There are around 1,200 individual ferrets in the wild today.

Southern White Rhino

One of the biggest conservation success stories, there were only around 100 southern white rhinos left and they were hovering very dangerously near to being declared extinct by the late 19th century. After a little over a century of conservation and protection, there are more than 20,000 individuals in the wild, mainly found in the protected parks of South Africa.  Although rhinoceros as a species stull remains highly endangered, these sub-species shine a light of hope for the future.

California Condor

One of the biggest birds on the planet, this majestic bird was placed in the extinct list during the late 1980’s. 22 individuals were actually captured and placed under a breeding program under the Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park. There are around 350 California condors alive today and half of them are flying in the wild in Baja California, Arizona, and California.

Humpback Whale

Like many great whales, the humpback’s population decimated because of commercial whaling which was rampant during the early and mid 1900’s. Researchers even estimated that at some point, the population of these majestic, harmless creatures was reduced to 2 percent of their number a century ago. Their population has risen to 80,000 over the years thanks to protection and anti-whale hunting regulations.

Przewalski's Horse

Unlike the other species of “wild” horses, these horses were never really domesticated. They represent the only true wild horses after humans started domesticating them thousands of years ago. Tragically, their population declined to its lowest during the 1960’s. After conservation and protection programs, these horses have rebounded with 1,500 individuals in breeding facilities and zoos. 400 horses also roam protected sites in China and Mongolia.