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Fifty years ago, in a moment of bipartisanship that's hard to imagine today, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, comprehensive legislation aimed at saving animal and plant species at risk of going extinct.
The bill, signed by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1973, declared that the fish, wildlife, and plants that made up the US were of "esthetic, ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific value to our nation and its people." The ESA recognized that without action, many of these species would go extinct.
More than a thousand species have been listed as threatened or endangered and received protection under the act. Though the ESA has become controversial, a study published in 2019 credited it with saving 99% of listed species from extinction.
Some species have even recovered beyond needing protection, and have been delisted under the act. Other protected species remain at risk but have recovered significantly from their record low numbers that preceded their ESA listing.
Here are ten iconic animal species with populations that have been saved or bounced back since being listed as endangered.