Silent Victories: 15 More Incredible Mammals Rescued from Oblivion

The battle against extinction is ongoing, worldwide, in countless ways, and by countless hands. While some stories make headlines for the world, there are many more that go unnoticed, but are significant accomplishments that defy all the odds. These stories are not merely about averting loss; they are about restoring equilibrium, revitalizing ecosystems, and affirming the inherent capacity of humanity to act as stewards and healers of the Earth.

This article explores another set of amazing mammalian survival stories. Once dangerously close to extinction, these animals have all adapted to their environments in their own unique way. Their stories of recovery from the brink illustrate the different strategies-from community activism to cutting-edge science-that characterize conservation in the present day.

The Ripple Effect: Why Each Recovery Counts

The value of one species is broader than just the existence of that species. The term used by many ecologists to describe such animals is "umbrella species" - animals whose protection means that a myriad of other life forms will also be protected. A big carnivore or a specialist herbivore is no exception - by protecting one of those, we protect the place it lives in, which protects a whole myriad of plants, insects, birds and smaller mammals that share the same space.

And many of these species are what ecologists call "ecosystem engineers," animals that play an irreplaceable role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. The return of nature, animals, and plants that depend on nature, reestablishes processes -- from seed dispersal to predator-prey dynamics -- that humans cannot artificially reproduce. Each comeback story will be a step towards a more stable, resilient and biodiverse planet.

Another 15 Astonishing Mammalian Comeback Stories

1. The Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)

The Brink: The most genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf in North America, the "Lobo" was hunted, trapped and poisoned to near extinction by the mid-20th century over conflicts with livestock. It was declared endangered in 1976 and by 1980 the last individuals of the wild population had been captured to save the subspecies.

The Rescue: Captive breeding was initiated as an emergency case, with only seven wolves to work from, an extremely severe genetic bottleneck. With diligent genetic management, the US and Mexican governments were able to breed enough wolves for release.In 1998 the first Mexican wolves were reintroduced into Apache National Forest in Arizona. Since then the wild population has increased very slowly and steadily, now estimated to be over 250 in the southwestern US and Mexico, due to the hard work of many dedicated citizens who care for this charismatic predator.

2. The Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)

The Brink: This spectacular silver-maned primate is only found in the fragmented rainforests of the Western Ghats in India. Habitat fragmentation due to rampant deforestation for tea, coffee and palm plantations has isolated populations and reduced their numbers so much that they are one of the most endangered primates on Earth.

The Rescue: Forest corridors have been created to link isolated groups. NGOs are working with plantation owners to implement wildlife-sensitive practices, as well as to alleviate the human-macaque conflict. Protected areas such as Silent Valley National Park give an important refuge. Although still threatened with extinction, their decline has been arrested and populations in protected areas are stable.

3. The Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

The Brink: The smallest and oldest of all rhinos, the "hairy rhino" has been hunted to near extinction for its horn. The last few populations of the orangutan are scattered across Sumatra and Borneo, making it even harder for them to find mates because of habitat loss.

The Rescue: Unlike many of its African relatives, this species is so elusive and rare that protecting it in the wild is insufficient. After decades of experimentation and failed births, a dedicated captive breeding program at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia has achieved some successful births. This highly managed insurance population, together with intensive anti-poaching patrol, is the last best hope for avoiding the complete extinction of this living fossil.

4. The Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis)

The brink: The world's most endangered canid with a population of only about 500. This beautiful red wolf is threatened by habitat loss due to agriculture, diseases spread by domestic dogs and persecution by farmers.

The Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, widely known as the Rescue, has a multi-faceted strategy: vaccination of thousands of domestic dogs in surrounding villages and a buffer against rabies and distemper, tracking of wolf packs and working with local communities on coexistence. Their efforts have helped to stave off a number of deadly disease epidemics that have led to the destruction of entire packs, ensuring the survival of this African alpine specialist.

5. The Philippine Tarsier (Carlito syrichta)

The Brink: This little giant-eyed primate fell victim to its own charisma. Along with rampant capture for the illegal pet trade and souvenir hunting, populations crashed due to massive deforestation.

The Rescue: The Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary was created on the island of Bohol to protect a core population. Laws have been passed (and enforced) against taking and selling them. Perhaps more importantly, a movement toward ethical ecotourism has provided a financial incentive for local communities to conserve the tarsier and its habitat. They can now be seen in the wild under controlled conditions providing a sustainable alternative to the poaching of these magnificent creatures.

6. The Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)

The Brink: This strange and wonderful lemur with its long middle finger for digging up insects in wood was victim to native superstition. It was regarded as a bad omen or a portender of death in Malagasy culture, so it was often killed on sight.

The Rescue: Education and cultural outreach took over. Organizations teamed up with local communities to lift the Aye-Aye from its position as a harbinger of doom and instead make it a celebrated national treasure. Along with the protection of its forest habitat in Madagascar, this has helped to reduce persecution and stabilise populations, ensuring that this ecological specialist is able to carry on fulfilling its important ecological role.

7. The Wild Bactrian Camel (Camelus ferus)

The Brink: This two-humped camel is distinguished from its domestic relative, and is able to eke out an existence in some of the driest deserts in Mongolia and China. It was pushed to the brink of extinction by habitat loss, hunting and competition for scarce sources of water with domestic livestock. Fewer than 1,000 remain in the wild.

The Rescue: The Great Gobi Reserve, a special reserve that was created for the camel in Mongolia. Conservationists have also helped herders with reducing competition and have installed water points away from the herders' camps to keep the camels away from people. Their extraordinary hardiness is encouraging for their survival, but they are so threatened with extinction that they remain at risk of becoming extinct.

8. The Hirola (Beatragus hunteri)

The Brink: also known as Hunter's antelope, the Hirola is the world's most endangered antelope. They occur only on the Kenya-Somalia border, and were victims of habitat destruction, drought and competition from livestock. By the 2010s the numbers had plummeted to around 500.

The Rescue: Ishaqbini Hirola Sanctuary is the product of the efforts of the Northern Rangelands Trust and other conservation organizations in partnership with local Somali communities. Community rangers patrolling the antelope and ensuring the population is not being poached In an ambitious project, a founder population was translocated to a predator free sanctuary located within the community conservancy, an approach that has already led to a large increase in their population.

9. The Pygmy Hog (Porcula salvania)

The Brink: The smallest and least abundant species of pig in the world this species was thought to be extinct until a small population was rediscovered in the grasslands of Assam, India in the 1970s. Its particular tall-grass habitat was destroyed, and this was the major reason for its decline.

The Rescue: The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme has set up a very successful captive breeding programme. For years, they developed the methods for how to breed and raise these delicate animals. Since 2008, we have started the painstaking process of reintroducing them into protected and restored grassland habitats in Assam, restoring a lost species to its habitat.

10. The Visayan Warty Pig (Sus cebifrons)

The Brink: Endemic to a few islands in the Philippines, this unique pig was seriously decimated by excessive hunting and habitat destruction. On three of the six islands it once lived, it was declared extinct.

The Rescue: Captive breeding programmes in European and Philippine zoos have produced a stable insurance population. These pigs have been released to protected reserves on Negros and Panay islands. The success of these programs is a joint victory for the international zoo community, and shows that ex-situ breeding can be a lifeline for a species.

11. The Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

The Brink: The Mountain Gorilla is increasingly in the limelight, but its lowland cousin is under serious threat from the commercial bushmeat trade, Ebola virus and deforestation triggered by logging and mining around Central Africa.

Rescue: Saving animals from poaching is high on the agenda, and is being attempted by brave national park rangers who risk their lives to save animals in the most remote corners of the world. Other organisations like the Wildlife Conservation Society help with these efforts by supplying tools for disease monitoring, working with governments on the formation and maintenance of protected areas and more. But while the risk to all these species remains very high, these activities have proved sufficiently successful to stave off total collapse and to protect core populations in these strongholds.

12. The Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)

The Brink: This small striped marsupial anteater once occurred widely in southern Australia. The introduction of the red fox destroyed its population, because it had no natural defense against this highly efficient predator. By the 1980s it was only persisting at two small sites.

The Rescue: Captive breeding, translocation and a concerted programme of fox control have had spectacular success. Numbats have been reintroduced into a number of fenced, predator free sanctuaries and nature reserves. Their populations have grown from a low of a few hundred to more than 2,000, evidence that invasive species management has had an impact.

13. The Colombian Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps rufiventris)

The Brink: This subspecies, which lives in Colombia and Panama, is critically endangered due to serious deforestation and hunting. The relatively slow reproduction rate of the species renders the species particularly vulnerable to population declines.

The Rescue: Community engagement is a key component to conservation success. The Proyecto Titi organization works with local communities to establish forest corridors, advance sustainable agriculture and even pay local women to make "monkey dolls" from recycled plastic, giving them an alternative economy to hunting. This integrative approach should safeguard the monkey for the lives of the people with whom it shares its landscape.

14. The Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis bieti)

The Brink: One of the world's rarest and least known feline species, this wildcat was threatened by extensive poisoning campaigns against pikas (its main prey) and by interbreeding with domestic cats.

The Rescue: The story of the Rescue is one of recent discovery and quick response. For decades it was known from only a few skins. The range and habits of this large ungulate have finally been brought to light by camera trapping and field studies. Now, conservationists are advocating a program to vaccinate and neuter domestic cats in the area to avoid hybridization and transmission of disease to help ensure a future for this enigmatic high-altitude specialist.

15. The Kitti’s Hog-Nosed Bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai)

The Brink: The Brink weighs only two grams and is the world's smallest mammal, and is threatened by human disturbance of its limestone cave roosts in Thailand and Myanmar, and habitat loss due to deforestation and burning.

The main approach has been the protection of key roosts in caves, such as in the Sai Yok National Park in Thailand. Tourism is managed at sensitive periods during the year and the public are reminded of the importance of this little animal. Its survival is proof that conservation is not limited to charismatic megafauna, but that all levels of biodiversity are valuable and worth protection, no matter how large or small.

The Unending Campaign for Coexistence

One of the take-home messages from the recovery of these 15 species is that there is no one fixes in conservation. Each one is a different solution to a different set of ecological and human problems. From disease management for the Ethiopian Wolf to cultural outreach for the Aye-Aye these successes have been achieved through specific, new and often locally developed methods.

These stories are not end-points, they are stepping stones on a longer journey. They demonstrate that extinction can be prevented. But they also remind us that our actions have rich and sweeping consequences-but that we have the compassion, creativity, and will to transform them. They are a call to continue to support the silent, patient and ultimately hopeful work of conservation around the world.