# Animals Brought Back From The Brink of Extinction **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769 "2015-03-11T17:54:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/1 "2015-03-11T17:54:10Z")
What are some animals that were close to extinction, but are now thriving (or close to it)? Three examples that I can think of: [Bald Eagle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_eagle) (_Haliaeetus leucocephalus_): In elementary school (early 70’s), I was taught that the number of bald eagles was in the low thousands. Now they’re Least Concern. In fact, I saw one in the wild (in southeast Missouri) a few weeks ago. [American Alligator](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator) (_Alligator Mississippiensis_): Hunted almost to extinction for their skins, now they’re back, and with a vengeance, almost to the point of being a nuisance. [American Bison](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison) (_Bison Bison_): Also hunted to near extinction. A few specimens exist in the wild, others exist on private reserves, and others are being raised for livestock. What else? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/2 "2015-03-11T18:01:16Z")
[California Condor.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_condor) > [@](#): > > This condor became extinct in the wild in 1987 (all remaining wild individuals were captured), but the species has been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah (including the Grand Canyon area and Zion National Park), the coastal mountains of central and southern California, and northern Baja California. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/3 "2015-03-11T18:08:33Z")
Peregrine falcon (US subspecies) - as bird predators, they were hit hard by bioaccumulative pesticides. Regulation allowed their numbers to recover. Black-footed ferrets - I wouldn’t say they are “thriving” per se, but the population has been greatly strengthened by a very strong captive breeding program. Galapagos tortoises - feral goats were removed from several islands, allowing tortoise populations to rebound. Desert tortoises - special protective status was assigned to several populations, including stricter regulation on keeping them as pets. There’s a few of these positive stories that zoos love to trot out. [This](http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/reports/delisting-report) is US Fish & Wildlife’s list of plants and animals removed from the endangered species list. (NB, I find it odd that USFWS listed, then delisted, red kangaroos in Australia. Most of the rest of this list consists of species native to the US. Anyone know the story here? **Colibri**?) ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/4 "2015-03-11T18:09:44Z")
Not quite thriving, it’s still critical, but the White-winged guan (_Penelope albipennis_) it was discovered in 1877 and not seen in 100 years and declared extinct. It was re-discovered in 1977 and it’s making a steady comeback but the total number is still in the few hundreds. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/5 "2015-03-11T18:35:55Z")
Whooping crane: After being pushed to the brink of extinction by unregulated hunting and loss of habitat to just 21 wild and two captive whooping cranes by 1941, conservation efforts have led to a limited recovery. As of 2011, there are an estimated 437 birds in the wild and more than 165 in captivity Not exactly recovered, but they were the poster child for “nearly extinct” when I was growing up. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/6 "2015-03-11T18:45:35Z")
Canadian geese. Either that or every blasted one of them has relocated to Nassau County, Long Island. ---
**Author:** ![GregH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@GregH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GregH)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/7 "2015-03-11T18:58:19Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > [Bald Eagle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_eagle) (_Haliaeetus leucocephalus_): In elementary school (early 70’s), I was taught that the number of bald eagles was in the low thousands. Now they’re Least Concern. In fact, I saw one in the wild (in southeast Missouri) a few weeks ago. I live in Vancouver, Canada and there are currently hundreds of these beautiful birds living near the local landfill that I pass on my way to work. I’ve seen 20+ in a single tree. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/8 "2015-03-11T19:05:50Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Canadian geese. Either that or every blasted one of them has relocated to Nassau County, Long Island. Nitpick: Canada Geese. And I agree, they’re are tons of them. Were they ever in Danes? ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/9 "2015-03-11T19:34:36Z")
I guess the [sea otter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_otter)would be another example; it’s estimated that the population fell to between 1,000 and 2,000 individuals at its lowest. (It’s still considered endangered, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/10 "2015-03-11T19:51:50Z")
The most extraordinary story I know is the [Chatham Island Black Robin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_robin), which at one point was reduced to a population of 5, only one of which was a reproductive female. Through extraordinary efforts by the New Zealand Wildlife Service the species was brought back from the brink and now has more than 200 individuals. I am glad to have had Don Merton, the lead officer on this project, as a colleague when I worked for the New Zealand Wildlife Service in the early 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/11 "2015-03-11T20:08:14Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Nitpick: Canada Geese. > > And I agree, they’re are tons of them. Were they ever in Danes? Why would a Dane want a Canada goose inside of them, and where would a Dane put one? Let me guess… autocorrect? Actually, Wikipedia makes it sound like they were pretty darned endangered: > [@](#): > > By the early 20th century, over-hunting and loss of habitat in the late 19th century and early 20th century had resulted in a serious decline in the numbers of this bird in its native range. The giant Canada goose subspecies was believed to be extinct in the 1950s… > **[Canada goose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose)** > > Anas canadensis Linnaeus, 1758 > The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe. It has been introduced to France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, ... ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/12 "2015-03-11T20:16:08Z")
The [Lord Howe’s Island stick insect](http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years). An amazing story, though it still can’t be released into its native habitat. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/13 "2015-03-11T23:31:32Z")
_The Large Breasted Bed Thrasher_. Never saw them when I was young, now they seem to be everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/14 "2015-03-12T00:06:58Z")
My current favorite: these amazing giant, walking-stick-like insects, “[tree lobsters](http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years)”: _Dryococelus australis_. They’re awesome. They were thought extinct, wiped out by rats. About 24 were found on a single, scrawny bush on this island with a crazy steep peak that looks like it must be something out of fiction. Now there are about 700 of these gentle giant bugs in a captive breeding program. They will survive! The story about them makes me very happy. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/15 "2015-03-12T00:22:36Z")
Aw, I see I was ninjaed…by several hours. Ah, well. It’s a terrific story. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/16 "2015-03-12T02:04:14Z")
The [Kakapo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo), a large, flightless, nocturnal New Zealand parrot, was reduced to only about 40-50 birds in the early 1990s. Since then, through intensive conservation efforts, the population has grown to about 120 birds. When I was with the New Zealand Wildlife Service in the early 1980s, I helped with some parts of the Kakapo recovery program. I worked with the translocation program on Little Barrier Island, which was my main research site for another species I was studying, the Stitchbird. I helped release or catch 5 birds on the island, about 10% of the know population at the time. I also worked with the radiotracking studies of other birds on Stewart Island, and went on survey trips by helicopter into some of the most remote valleys in Fiordland to try to track down some of the last remaining males on the South Island. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/17 "2015-03-12T02:24:32Z")
Northern Elephant Seal ( _Mirounga angustirostris_ ), hunted to extinction (it was thought) except for an undiscovered remnant population. From the [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_elephant_seal) article: > [@](#): > > Beginning in the 18th century, northern elephant seals were hunted extensively, almost to extinction by the end of the 19th century,[1] being prized for oil made from their blubber, and the population may have fallen as low as 20.[1] In 1874, Charles Melville Scammon recorded in Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of America, that an 18-ft-long bull caught on Santa Barbara Island yielded 210 gallons of oil.[25] They were thought to be extinct in 1884 until a remnant population of eight individuals was discovered on Guadalupe Island in 1892 by a Smithsonian expedition, who promptly killed seven of the eight for their collections.[26] The elephant seals managed to survive, and were finally protected by the Mexican government in 1922. Since the early 20th century, they have been protected by law in both Mexico and in the United States. Subsequently, the U.S. protection was strengthened after passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and numbers have now recovered to over 100,000. > > Nevertheless, a genetic bottleneck exists in the existing population, which could make it more susceptible to disease and pollution.[27][28] Stupid Smithsonian expedition! Found what they thought were the last 8 remaining, and killed 7 of them just to bring their carcasses back to put in a museum. According to the story as I learned it, the population survived because there was another small cluster of them living on the far side of the same island, that they didn’t notice. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/18 "2015-03-12T02:32:32Z")
Note the mention of “genetic bottleneck” in the above Wiki excerpt. This is a problem that happens when a population falls to near-extinction levels but then manages to recover. When a population falls to such low levels, there remains very little genetic variety in that small population. Thereafter, the recovered population will all be cousins descended from just a few common ancestors, so the entire population will be very genetically uniform for many many generations, perhaps forever. This means the population will be very vulnerable to future disasters. Any change in the environment, or any disease epidemic that kills a few of them is likely to kill a lot of them, or even wipe them out entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/19 "2015-03-12T02:40:19Z")
Several populations of Gray Whales were hunted to extinction (e.g., Atlantic Gray Whales). The Northern Pacific Gray Whale ( _Eschrichtius robustus_ ) was hunted very nearly to extinction, but has recovered fairly well, once protected. [Wiki article on Gray Whale](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_whale) ---
**Author:** ![Recusant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@Recusant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recusant)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769/20 "2015-03-12T02:42:37Z")
Though it doesn’t quite qualify, I’m surprised no one has yet brought up the Pyrenean Ibex. They died out in 2001, but eight years later, scientists managed to successfully clone one, which was born live. Sadly, its lungs were underdeveloped, which happens a lot with clones, and it died seven minutes later, but for those seven minutes, the Pyrenean ibex was no longer extinct. The media largely ignored this, preferring instead to focus on Obama’s inauguration (remember how long that went on?), and in a way I’m glad. Granted, most people don’t know about what was a major moment in the scientific history of our species, but on the other hand, the bumper stickers would have a lot less impact if they said “Extinction is forever… kinda”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/714769.md?page=2)