Back from the brink: Ecosystem restoration saved these species from extinction

UK's bittern has made a turnaround from extinction in recent years. Restoring natural processes in degraded wetlands and at former industrial landscapes have revived bittern's population that was on the verge of extinction 20 years ago. 
 

The Antiguan racer is a harmless snake that was only found in the Caribbean a few years ago. It is among the rarest snakes in the world. Non-native mongooses that were introduced in the late-19th century to control rats, feasted on the snakes. As a result, by 1995 only 50 racers survived on a single offshore islet.

Restoration efforts have cleared several islands of invasive predators which have helped the Antiguan racer multiply. As per reports, their number has increased to 1,100 now. 

Dolphin-like dugongs vanished from much of their once-vast range due to hunting, entanglement in fishing gear and the loss of the seagrass on which they feed.

However, the ecosystem restoration process to save Dugongs from extinction is underway in the Australia, Mozambique and the Arabian Gulf. 

The upper Paraná region of the Atlantic Forest has the highest population of Jaguars. However, due to deforestation, their numbers have been dwindling.

With reduced deforestation and the restoration of thousands of hectares of former forest land, the jaguar population has now risen by an estimated 160 per cent since 2005.

There are only about 1,000 mountain gorillas in the wild. This figure represents a steady yet welcomed increase in their numbers.

Threats such as climate change and disease have kept them endangered. Restoration work includes the rehabilitation of more than 1,000 hectares in Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Restoration also aims at removing exotic trees so that native forest species can make a comeback. 

Overhunting, the loss of habitat, and the outbreak of diseases reduced the population of Saigas, a goat-sized antelope. 

Restoration efforts include the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative in Kazakhstan, which aims at protecting and revitalising some 7.5 million hectares of steppe, semi-desert and desert. These efforts have already been fruitful as the number of Saigas has bounced from 50,000 in 2006 to over 1.3 million today.