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10 Amazing Animals Saved from Extinction
Since the ratification of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, many species have been saved from extinction. For over three decades, the Endangered Species Act has served as America’s safety net for wildlife. Its purpose, to protect fish, plants and wildlife from going extinct is yet to be reached but many species are on the road to recovery. As of April 3, 2007, there are 1,326 species on the threatened and endangered lists but many have been saved. Here are 10 of their most notable success stories:
1. Prairie Dog
After a large extermination effort in the early 1900s, prairie dogs habitat had been reduced by 98%. Their population was drastically reduced, from almost 100,000 to 3,000. They are one of only two prairie dog species with federal protection, and estimates were below 1,500 individuals in the 1970’s. Their persecution started in the 1920s because it was believed that the species damaged rangeland. The species received the status of endangered in 1973 and was reclassified as threatened in 1984 after some minor recovery. By 1981, that number had nearly tripled, back to almost its original number just eight years after the passing of the Endangered Species Act. Colonies at Bryce Canyon were reestablished in 1974, and the park now protects a few major populations.
2. Whooping Crane
In the late 1800s, there were about 1,500 birds in Western Canada and the U.S. Conservation efforts begun in 1938 have resulted in a slow increase. Now, there’s an effort to reintroduce the birds to their winter home in Florida. But that involves teaching the captive-bred birds how to migrate from their northern nesting grounds by following an ultra-light aircraft. In 40 years, the cranes’ population increased from 50 to approximately 500.
3. Grizzly Bear
These Brown Bears were once abundant in North America, but now are close to disappearing forever. The grizzly bear is listed as threatened in the contiguous United States, and endangered in parts of Canada. What is more worrying is that bear hunting is still legal in Alaska and some parts of Canada. Still, it seems that these symbols of Earth are making a come-back: the population increased from increased from 271 to over 580 bears in the Yellowstone area between 1975 and 2005
4. Bald Eagle
The bald eagle is probably some of the most successful American wildlife story. 
It reached the edge of extinction due to hunting, habitat loss and the effects of pesticides. Bald eagle populations dropped from more than 100,000 nesting eagles at that time to only about 400 breeding pairs in 1963. Adult female birds were affected the pesticide DDT that prevented them from laying healthy eggs. The bird was declared an endangered species in the U.S. in 1967. After massive conservation efforts, there are more than 7,500 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states today.
5. Gray Wolf
Heavily persecuted in Europe, the wolf became extinct in England in 1486, Scotland in 1743, and Ireland in 1770. In the first part of the 20th century in North America, it was believed that wolves caused widespread livestock losses, thus reducing their population considerably. Heavy involvement in this issue lead to a massive increase of the population in Northern Rockies, Southwest, and Great Lakes, the reintroduction experiment being a resounding success.
6. Green Sea Turtle
Probably the oldest animal on Earth, that witnessed the dinosaurs’ destruction, 
the green turtle was hunted for food and for the cosmetics and clothing industries. Being an important part of the the beach/dune and the marine systems, their extinction would have a negative impact on these environments. Although still on the endangered species list, efforts lead to an increase in the creatures’ nests. Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, the Marine Mammal Center in Northern California and the Sea Turtle Inc. organization in South Padre Island, TX are only a few of the organizations involved in saving these fascinating animals.
7. Key Deer
Hunted enthusiastically over a century ago, the key deer was a rare animal in the 1950, only 25 members of the species remaining. The conservation movement for these creatures began in Louisiana, aided by the new Federal laws. Road kills from drivers on U.S. Route 1 are one of the major threats for these animals, 40 deers being killed each year. To help with the conservation efforts, key deers were given the National Key Deer Refuge, 8,500 acres of land on Big Pine. today, their population is close to reaching 1,000.
8. Florida Panther
The Florida panther, Florida’s state animal, is one of the most endangered mammals on earth. 
Once on the brink of extinction, the population is now getting close to 100 felines. Two of the most important threats for the panther are are automobile injuries and aggression between panthers for territory. The loss of habitat has the most important impact on the population, since panthers need large areas with an adequate number of prey. Scientists say Florida’s current panther population is perhaps the greatest it’s been in the past fifty years.
9. Kirtland’s Warbler
Fire suppression led to decline in suitable habitat for nesting, while nest parasites led to a decrease in the number of Warbler birds. It has restrictive breeding range requirements, preferring 5-20 year old jack pine trees and sandy soil for its nest. From 210 pairs in 1971, the birds population reached 1,000 pairs in 2001 due to intense conservation efforts following the Endangered Species Act. Today, 150,000 acres of public land are reserved for Kirtland’s warbler management.
10. American Alligator
The American alligator is one of the two living species of Alligator and one of the largest reptiles in North America. 
Humans are the American alligators main threat to survival. Sadly, they are hunted for their meat and their skin used to produce various leather goods. Conservation efforts have helped the American alligator make a comebac, now being fully recovered and consequently removed the animal from the list of endangered species.
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Thanks! I really enjoyed the article.
Great article. I love when animals can beat the man hand.
Let me include a link of your article in community interesting animals community (check it out clicking my name).
Thanks again
i really liked your post. keep on writing. seems like there is a hard work on it.
Good story, but I don’t know about the facts. For example, you say prairie dogs drop to 3,000 and then a sentence later you say 1,500. I mean, which is it. You also state “they are only one of two prairie dog species…” and “they” means prairie dog since you didn’t not specify any particular species so… what the heck does that mean, exactly. Similar errors in the other species too. Anyway, the inconsistencies lead me to question your sources and whether or not you are just making facts up. Might want to proofread next time.
Great article, it’s nice to hear about some of the success stories humans have had with conservation.
Prairie dogs are vermin and a danger to tractors and must be taken care of in order to make room for all the crops we have to grow in order to make bio-fuels.
Alligators are good eats.
They’ve got freaking kangaroos on the US list. What the heck for? They are zoo animals. The Endangered Species Act is bullshit!
I would say that the Ivory Billed Woodpecker should be on this list. It was listed as extinct and is now coming back. The last one seen before recently was decades ago!
I’m glad the Alligator is off of the protection list, it’s cool being able to go out and hunt one. Their skin looks awesome next to a fireplace.
Great article. That florida panther is beautiful.
I really like hearing positive news instead of all the negativity you hear nowadays, thanks for showing people that there are good things happening all the time in habitats.
“Prairie dogs have been part of the Texas ecosystem for millions of years and are a reflection of healthy ecosystems. Today, it is estimated that 98 percent of the population has been lost, and that only three hundred thousand prairie dogs remain in Texas,” states mammalogist Dr. David Schmidly.
Not quite what the article states, but what the heck. 2% left is not 1500, but 300,000.
It’s good to see that there are still some people fighting for the animals. The world would be a drab place without them.
Google it if you don’t believe me.
You’re missing out the most amazing save of all - the California Condor.
Panda Bear?
[...] of interesting thing i found there: 10 Amazing Animals Saved from Extinction . Prairie dog is an endangered species! I never knew that. This entry was posted on Saturday, [...]
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Animals saved from extinction….
Good for discussion in Biology, Zoology, or any k-12 class for that matter….
That little Florida Panther is so cute. The cutest animals get all of the attention. The NM prarie dogs are still very prolific, we will share. In the film Ice Age, we all recall the antics of ‘Scrat’, the supposedly long ago extinct ‘Squirrel Rat’. Well that little rascal just seemed to re-incarnate itself in Indonesia early last year. He sure is a tricky litle devil. I really do appreciate all of the efforts to preserve anilmal species. How did the Polar Bears survive the much warmer climate as little as 800 to a thousand years ago recorded in the period of the ‘Maunder’ Maximum?
MMMMMM prairie dog poppers are delicious. Also gator tail and filete de manzo o’ baby panther is absolutely succulent…. the most tender of meats. And who could forget green turtle eggs benedict in the morning? To all of you tree hugging PETA members I just wanna say that my ancestors did not crawl their way to the top of the food chain to eat tofu! Get grip on reality will ya?
Why the big deal over an oversized rat?? Prarie dogs cause millions of dollars damage to land and livestock not to mention that they spread disease, and the do in fact ruin range land. Should have let them die out.
I’m from Canada and we have bald eagles up here, we watch one from our porch. He really shouldn’t try to eat my dog though it’d probably give him indigestion. As for prarie dogs we have what we call groundhogs, lots bigger. You can dig ‘em, smoke ‘em out, trap ‘em hunt ‘em, they could care less they keep coming back. I’m not sure even nature could eradicate them.
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That’s all very interesting, but don’t forget that there is a whole world of endangered species outside of the United States!
I like the notice about aligator too, i read many interesting stories about it. Is it very long? Is it possible to make “friendship” with such an animal?
Why is it necessary to waste time to prove I’m a person?
Great post; great list - even better if we could have the top 20 or top 30 next year…
Hey there out there, great success stories. What some people don’t realize is that if the animals die, we die. For every animal saved 3 die out, we all have to do our part so everyone reading, try harder, give more!!
We as humans are not as smart as we think, killing off certain species has a domino effect on an ecosystem.
Quick example: The Gray wolf in yellowstone National Park. They just realised that without the wolf in the park for 70 years (re-introduced in 1995) No new Aspen trees grew??? why u ask ? because the elk & Deer love eating the Aspen sapplings that grow in the valleys, without the hunters they ate until they irradicated all new sapplings, being chased by wolfs didn’t allow the animals to stay in one place too long and forced them to eat shrubbery on the hillside as well, we just figured this out because the trees have started to grow there again,
ALL animals are here for a reason and to be honest animals seem to deserve this planet more than most humans I know,
Maybee one day we will see some sucess for the tigers. WE DO NOT INHERIT THE EARTH FROM OUR PARENTS—WE BORROW IT FROM OUR CHILDREN
I am glad to have read this article and find it very informational. I do think you have failed to list some of the dessert animals though such as the Peregrine Falcon, the Gila Monster, and the Ocelot, a jaguar, that is returning to New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. I have also seen some of the other comments and find it unbelievable that so many people are to naive to realize that if animals go extinct humans will follow soon after. There is such a thing as, although some might find this crude, a food chain and even though we humans are at the top now, when all the animals are gone we will not only be the first ones on it, we will be the last.
who thinks they should protect the are where the tasmanian devil lives?!!! it has been said to be extinct but who r we to decide!htese animals are amazing!!!!! and if they do exist we can help by protecting them and there habitat! please have a heart.go to this website and learn a bit about the tasmanian devil. an other extinct animals. there has been recordings of sights of the tasmanian devil where they use 2 live.and if thats true then help protect them! http://www.oddee.com/item_88742.aspx
I’m glad that this website shows 10 species that were saved from extinction. Thankyou for that.
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this is awesome. hi i’m heather . i’m going to the YMCA.
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I adore this site! I can stay up all night just to have fun and see new posts. I love to spend my free time this way
terrible!
Happy for them!
Its sad that turtles are being killed because of plastic bags - we should recycle and keep them out of the oceans.
What about the California Condor? There were no left in the wild in the 1980’s and now there are more than 200 in the wild today. They are one of the best examples of a species saved because in the 1930’s the species was written off. Now there are Two distinct populations in the US.
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Thanks for the informative post
why arent we talking about the Kashmir stag or hangul as endangered? There must be just 50 left and only in one strife torn places : kashmir… in its Dachigam national Park…
osbemloco
Hi I think you have a bad link on the Prarie dog article - it seems to go to some sort of dog site?
Yes, thank you so much for all the people who saved these animals. You can make a difference!
YAY ANIMALS!
azn stuff
rocks
azn stuff is awesome
toyota is stupid but the best
hola yo quiero decirles que estoy de acuerdo con lo que hicieron pero porque no ayudan a otros animales que estan en extincion como el tigre blanco y el de la selva.gracias
To the owner of this photo: I AM A 13 YEAR OLD BOY AND I WANT TO USE THE BALD EAGLE AND THE SEA TURTLE FOR AN ANIMAL BASED CARD GAME THAT’S KINDA LIKE YU-GI-OH. CAN I PLEASE PUT IT ON A CARD IF PEOPLE CAN PURCHASE IT ONLINE? I DID’NT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE COPYRIGHT RULES.
PLEASE TELL ME IF I CAN USE IT AND, IF I COULD, IF PEOPLE COULD BUY IT OR NOT. (price would be a matter of cents)
amazing wonderful so the govenment has to take the step
these animals are a big part of out life thanxs 4 making a difference in this world i appreciate =)
Nice pics. I like the Sea turtles.
its pretty
Thanks!
Fred’s last blog post..The Gharial (or Gavial)
can you speak persian…
amazing wonderful so the govenment has to take the step
tanks
definitely fall in love to prairie dog
And I’m exciting those Indian guys from last Fred post… such terrible!
Seems to me these animals have nothing to do with the ESA and would have made it anyway. The militant following of it to me is a bit silly but hey I just make sense I’m sure you all hate me
hehehehehee
Thank you for great post!
Great posts! I will bookmark and return.
thank you !!!!!!!! is very very nice
Melody Jungblut’s last blog post..Silent Carbon Footprint: Top Ten Sources You’d Never Expect
Muchas gracias Melody
Te amo!!!!
Nick’s last blog post..Silent Carbon Footprint: Top Ten Sources You’d Never Expect
I love you !!!!!
Melody Jungblut’s last blog post..Silent Carbon Footprint: Top Ten Sources You’d Never Expect
Como busco los animales?
Nick’s last blog post..Silent Carbon Footprint: Top Ten Sources You’d Never Expect
Melody’s last blog post..Silent Carbon Footprint: Top Ten Sources You’d Never Expect
Melody’s last blog post..Silent Carbon Footprint: Top Ten Sources You’d Never Expect
i love the crocodile and the pikatchu
i love the pikatchu
very good . tanks.