The U.S. almost lost its bald eagles — but conservation efforts have saved this species and many others.
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Humans aren’t always the best at caring for the world around us.
Anthropogenic climate change is one searing example — our actions are already wreaking havoc on numerous plant and animal species.
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Conservation efforts around the globe have helped bring a number of species back from the brink. Restored populations have also had long-term benefits for entire ecosystems.
This small marsupial vanished from mainland Australia for over a century. But in August 2021, they were reintroduced in small numbers as part of a government repopulation program.
Though still endangered, this prowler has been the subject of several conservation efforts since it was added to the endangered species list in 1973.
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Its population has gone from just a few dozen in the wild to over 200 cats in recent years.
Wolves were hunted to extinction in Yellowstone during the 1920s. But reintroduction efforts have flipped an unbalanced ecosystem back into order.
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Today, the presence of gray wolves has boosted beaver populations, and helped keep skyrocketing numbers of elk in check.
It’s even helped restore native flora that disappeared when the wolves weren’t around.
Long-term conservation efforts from the U.S. to Thailand are paying off: some sea turtle populations are making a comeback.
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Surveys in 2019 and 2020 found that populations of green turtles and leatherbacks increased significantly over the decades.
But these populations are still at risk, thanks to warming oceans and other factors.
Some subspecies of beluga are endangered, while others suffer in captivity. But conservation and government groups are trying to save the whales from extinction.
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In the wild, the Cook Inlet beluga, which is currently endangered, is protected by the Endangered Species Act.
It still faces many preventable, human-caused threats — such as pollution and climate change. But there is a glimmer of hope.
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An open-water sanctuary in Iceland started rehabilitating captive belugas in 2020 before reintroducing them to the wild — the first project of its kind.
In the early 2000s, only a few hundred of these tortoises were left in Myanmar. Captive breeding programs helped bring the population back from the brink.
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In 2017, experts estimated that there are around 14,000 tortoises living in the wild, thanks to human intervention.
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Aggressive hunting, relocation, and poisoning in fish from a chemical called DDT almost wiped out the bald eagle.
But protections from the Endangered Species Act in 1972 spurred conservation efforts — and today the species is no longer endangered.
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