Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Bald eagleBald eagleThe lower 48 states went from 417 known breeding pairs in 1963 to nearly 9,800 by the time of federal delisting in 2007. The 1972 restrictions on DDT mattered because the chemical had left eagles producing eggs with thin shells. Nest protection and reintroductions helped the gains spread.0
  2. 2American alligatorAmerican alligatorFederal protection helped reverse a decline caused in part by heavy hunting. In 1987, the United States recognized the alligator’s recovery. Trade controls still serve a purpose: alligator products can look like products made from crocodilians that remain threatened.0
  3. 3Brown pelicanBrown pelicanBrown pelicans returned from a crash severe enough for the United States to list them as endangered across their range in 1970. DDT restrictions helped them raise young successfully again. The United States completed federal delisting in 2009. That result depended on protecting the conditions under…0
  4. 4Wood storkWood storkThe southeastern U.S. population was down to a fraction of its earlier size when it gained federal protection in 1984. By the 2026 delisting, estimates put it at 10,000 to 14,000 nesting pairs. The comeback spread beyond older South Florida nesting areas into coastal marshes and other wetlands…0
  5. 5Mountain gorillaMountain gorillaResults announced in 2019 brought the combined minimum count to 1,063 wild mountain gorillas across the Virunga Massif and the Bwindi–Sarambwe area. Work in the gorillas’ habitat included protection, monitoring, and veterinary care for injured or sick animals. Even after the increase, the…0
  6. 6Giant pandaGiant pandaChina’s fourth national survey put the number of wild giant pandas at about 1,864, up from about 1,600 in the previous survey. Protected forests gave the animals more room. The wild population was still divided into many groups, so whether pandas can move between patches of habitat matters…0
  7. 7Humpback whaleHumpback whaleAfter international restrictions on commercial whaling and decades of protection, U.S. officials assessed 14 distinct humpback populations in 2016. Nine no longer warranted federal endangered-species protection, four remained endangered, and one was listed as threatened. The designation depended on…0
  8. 8Northern Elephant SealNorthern Elephant SealHunting reduced northern elephant seals to a small remnant off Mexico in the nineteenth century. Protection gave those survivors room to multiply and reoccupy breeding sites along the Pacific coast. Today’s colonies are descendants of the animals that came through that narrow bottleneck.0
  9. 9Green sea turtleGreen sea turtleIn Hawai‘i, decades of nesting surveys have recorded a substantial recovery since federal protection began in 1978. The population still relies on a limited set of nesting beaches. When Hurricane Walaka washed over East Island in 2018, it showed how much a recovered population can depend on one low…0
  10. 10Saiga antelopeSaiga antelopeKazakhstan’s saiga population reached an estimated 1.3 million in May 2022. In 2023, the IUCN moved the species from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened, citing coordinated conservation that included action against poaching. Earlier mass die-offs make disease a serious risk even after such a…0