15 Mammals Saved From Extinction

15 Mammals Saved From Extinction

In a world where the news about the loss of the environment is in the headlines, one needs to applaud the victory. The concept of an endangered species may appear to be a far fetched theory, but it is also a call of action, which has been answered successfully by many projects across the globe. Due to decades of conservation of wildlife, there is a plethora of wildlife species that are now on the brink of extinction.

American Bison

Uncontrolled hunting and westward expansion at one time in the tens of millions depleted the bison to a few hundred by the end of the 1800s. Its population has since dramatically increased to over 30,000 free roaming animals today, making it one of the most successful stories of species conservation initiatives in the United States, despite years of major population declines caused by hunting and trapping since the discovery of the Yellowstone National Park in the region.

Southern White Rhino

It was the greatest conservation success as far as rhinos were concerned that had been achieved and it was felt that this animal had died out many years prior to the very few found in South Africa in 1895. Not long ago the number of them has not surpassed 100 individuals of which there are now almost 15000 individuals which have been bred and carefully guarded, nevertheless they keep falling prey to poachers.

Giant Panda

Got re-classified as a Vulnerable species as the global ambassador of conservation because it is no longer seen as endangered in 2016. This could be traced directly to the heavy lifting that China undertook to build the guarded panda habitats and dominate the breeding science research which shows clearly that it can go in reverse with sufficient pressure the implications of wildlife conservation.

Humpback Whale

Many species of whales were killed practically to extinction by the commercial whaling industry. Since the impact of a moratorium on whaling could not be more exaggerated (in fact the result was very bad) the end result was Humpbacks recovered in 1986 at an unprecedented rate since it was no longer undertaken to be an endangered species which is the most ocean protection success worldwide.

Black Footed Ferret

The species was rediscovered in 1981 and one of the dead ferrets was brought back home by a small dog in Wyoming who was allegedly dead in 1979. It represents a case study of a species that is being saved by massive reintroduction and breeding efforts as this cute predator slowly re-invades the prairies.

Arabian Oryx

Arabian Oryx was brought into extinction in the wild as far back as 1972, but could be rescued through a captive re-breed program called Operation Oryx. Intentionally planned activities led to the reintroduction of the African twin to the Arabian Peninsula with an initial population of only nine individuals. It has received the very first downgrade to vulnerable.

California Condor

Within the by 1987 ample time there were now as close to children of the last wild California Condors, which had now been distressed in a chosen end steps issued termed captive breeding program, only 27 Condors. It poke its nose against men and odds Now there are more than 300 condors flying in California, Arizona and in Baja California and became one of the most popular mammals saved by humans.

European Bison 

Having been overhunted to extinction in the wild by the start of the 20th century, the European Bison existed only in captivity. A comprehensive reintroduction effort was initiated in the 1950s and nowadays, independent populations of the cunning herd can be found in various European nations, a long overdue species revival of the biggest land mammal on the continent.

Golden Lion Tamarin

Native to Brazil, the Atlantic Forest the gossamer thin miniature monkey was almost facing extinction after the home and pet industries had died out. But due to intensive breeding in zoos worldwide and re-enrichment of habitats in Brazil, their numbers have doubled in the wild since the 1970s, and yet they are not becoming extinct.

Mountain Gorilla

There is a symbol of hope, the mountain gorilla, the only great ape whose population is increasing; he lives alone, does not live in a troop. In Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC, extreme ecotourism procedures and veterinary intervention in those nations, combined with aggressive anti poaching patrols, have joined to swell their ranks, which were only in the 1980s of 240, to 1,000. Today the home of this giant is in shambles due to large scale logging and declared endangered in 1985. Another outcome of decades of forest recovery was also the rediscovery of the wildflower; this has since been delisted in 2008 as the evidence is that once an ecosystem is saved its species will be spared.

Iberian Lynx

The most threatened cat in the world today with less than 100 individuals surviving in the early 2000s. An extensive program of breeding of lynxes, re-establishing the rabbit population (their main prey), and wildlife corridors increased the lynx population tenfold, another remarkable achievement of European wildlife conservation efforts.

Phasy Polar Horse

The last wild horse originated in North America and most of them died in the 1960s. A breeding program created over international borders with a success rate of only 12 animals has enabled rebreeding of successful animals in time to result in a reintroduction to all of Europe back into Mongolia and China (several hundred free animals are now running around in that area once more).

Island Fox

These four subspecies of this small fox were only native to the Channel Islands off the coast of California and all but one of them had been reduced to near extinction by the precursor Golden eagles. In under 20 years a rapid and successful recovery program involving eagle captive breeding, eagle relocation and restoration of eagle habitats occurred that saw the eagles leave the critical endangerment status.

Sea Otter

They were hunted almost to extinction to harvest their luxurious fur in the maritime fur trade and only a few isolated numbers survived. Since 1911 when they were internationally safeguarded, they have been very slow to increase in number, but are presently becoming thought of as a keystone species whose presence is valuable to the health of kelp forest environments

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Not the Full Story of Conservation

This is not a refrain of victory, but of hope that we can all prevent the extinction of the remaining mammal species that are endangered. And all the animals were products of hundreds of hours of labor by the scientists, rangers, conservationists, and communities. The above conservation success stories can be cited as examples on the trend of biodiversity loss which with funding, political will and overall support by people can be reversed. Even the story of how we can successfully recover one (or several) threatened species remains incomplete and will depend on our capacity to preserve those unbelievable creatures with whom we are cohabiting this earth.