7 Animals That Were Almost Extinct... The World Would Be SO Different Without #5!

by N/A, 10 years ago | 1 min read

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Our planet depends on the survival of many types of animals, but as technologies advance and population increases, it can be hard to control what happens to these animals. Here are 7 that may not have been around, if it hadn't been for government protection and conservation efforts.

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1. Aleutian Canada Goose

These geese began to become less plentiful when non-native foxes were introduced to their habitats in the Alaskan islands. The foxes were introduced by the fur industry. After the foxes were removed and hunting restrictions were placed on the area, number

2. Brown Pelican

Between 1968 and 1980, brown pelicans were reintroduced to Louisiana. Now, there are 11,000 pairs of brown pelicans producing 24,000 fledglings. Despite this progress brown pelicans are still threatened every year by hurricanes and storms.

3. Island Night Lizard

Pigs, goats, sheep and domesticated cats posed the biggest threats to the Island Night Lizard. After gaining Endangered Species Act protections, populations have started to increase to as many as 21 million in the California Channel Islands.

4. Lake Erie Water Snake

These snakes were often the victims of unregulated killing and other human interference. Their population was saved by a public education campaign started by a professor and a PhD student from Northern Illinois University.

5. Gray Wolf

The gray wolf population began to decrease after they were people began to think they were threatening. After gaining protections in 1974, the gray wolf was removed from the endangered species list. This was a controversial decision because gray wolves on

6. Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel

Industrial logging incidents caused these little creatures to nearly become extinct. Thankfully, since they gained protection from the Endangered Species Act and other initiatives, they're population has started to flourish.

7. Steller Sea Lion

These awesome sea creatures are native to the west coast of the U.S. They were often victims subjected to the dangers associated with man-made materials like off-shore drilling, boating strikes and even illegal hunting. After gaining protection under the