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White-tailed eagle -

A pair of white-tailed eagles in County Fermanagh have become the first to breed in Northern Ireland in more than 150 years. While the reintroduction of this powerful raptor south of the border and in England is ongoing, the story in Scotland is one of success, where around 40 pairs now nest.

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Alpine ibex -

The reintroduction of the alpine ibex into the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps began well over a century ago, in 1902. Several of the animals, a species of goat, were taken from Gran Paradiso in northwest Italy into captive facilities in Switzerland for selective breeding. This gave rise to the populations now thriving in the highest mountain regions in Europe.

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Black-bellied hamster -

The black-bellied hamster, also known as the European hamster, is native to grassland and similar habitats in a large part of Eurasia, but is listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Captive-breeding programs like the one adopted in France in 2014, where every year 500 individuals are released into fields that farmers have been paid not to harvest, have helped swell numbers.

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Eurasian lynx -

The last confirmed sighting in Switzerland of a Eurasian lynx was in 1904. Similarly, the species was effectively wiped out in the French Alps in the early 20th century. Fortunately, populations of this wild cat have increased dramatically since its reintroduction into both regions in the 1970s, with at least 250 lynx today recorded in the Swiss Jura Mountains alone.

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European beaver -

The European beaver recovered from near-extinction across the continent in the early 20th century to being listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN. Hunted mercilessly for its pelt to leave just 1,200 animals in the wild by 1900, the European beaver today ranges across almost all countries in Europe.

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European bison -

By the early 20th century, the European bison had been hunted to extinction in the wild, the last one being shot in the Białowieża Forest (on today's Belarus–Poland border) in 1921. But it was in Poland and Belarus that Europe's heaviest wild land animal made a remarkable recovery, its numbers slowly multiplying through captive breeding programs. The IUCN, however, still lists the species as Near-Threatened.

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European black vulture -

A reintroduction scheme in France has seen the Massif Central highland region witness an encouraging return of the European black vulture, a large raptor also known as the cinereous vulture.

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Heath fritillary butterfly -

In 1980, the heath fritillary butterfly was "considered to be the most endangered British butterfly" by Butterfly Conservation. It was subsequently given protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Efforts to conserve and manage the species' habitats are ongoing, with woodland sites in the county of Essex recording the biggest increase in its numbers.

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Alpine marmot -

Once widely hunted for food and for the weird notion that their fat eased rheumatism when rubbed on the skin, the Alpine marmot was effectively extinct in the French Pyrenees region before 400 individuals were successfully reintroduced into the region between 1948 and 1988.

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Glanville fritillary butterfly -

Glanville fritillaries are susceptible to climate change, with this particular species of butterfly sedentary by nature and therefore unable to adapt very well to rising temperatures. In England, the UK Biodiversity Action Plan has seen this butterfly successfully reintroduced in the country of Somerset as part of a nationwide conservation program.

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Griffon vulture -

Like its near-relative the European black vulture, the Griffon vulture has also found sanctuary in the Massif Central in France after being reintroduced into the area.

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Przewalski's horse -

Listed by the IUCN as Endangered, Przewalski's horse is a rare species originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. In an effort to reintroduce the animal into Ukraine, the world's largest captive-breeding program for Przewalski's horses was established at the Askania Nova preserve in Ukraine. Small numbers of the species have been successfully bred and released into the wild. However, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the UNESCO biosphere reserve has been at risk of potential fires, hostilities, and the movement of military equipment.

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Bearded vulture -

Switzerland is probably not the first place you'd think of when discussing vultures, but the reintroduction of the bearded vulture, also known as the lammergeier, has provided a home in the Swiss Alps for this majestic bird of prey. The raptor can also be spied soaring above the French Alps.

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Large blue butterfly -

Currently the large blue butterfly is classified as critically endangered in Great Britain, its status across Europe of equal concern. But a reintroduction program carried out in the South West of England led by the Royal Entomological Society has seen a significant increase in numbers.

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Eurasian goshawk -

The Eurasian goshawk owes its elevated population numbers in the UK to deliberate reintroduction programs and escaped falconers' birds. Elsewhere across Europe, the goshawk is a common bird of prey.

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Osprey -

A pair of ospreys has nested successfully almost every year since 1959 at Loch Garten Osprey Centre, Abernethy Forest Reserve, in the Scottish Highlands. In 1999, a pair from the Scottish population bred for the first time in the Lake District at Bassenthwaite Lake. The recolonization of the UK by this fish-eating bird of prey is one of the great wildlife reintroduction stories of recent history.

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Silver-washed fritillary butterfly -

The silver-washed fritillary was in decline in the UK for much of the 1970s and '80s. A large and strikingly marked butterfly, its numbers recovered somewhat after habitat management work conducted by Butterfly Conservation lured the species back into familiar territory, especially in the counties of Essex and Sussex.

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Red kite -

Today widespread across Europe, the red kite population in the UK was once confined to a handful of pairs in South Wales. The gradual reintroduction in the 1980s and early '90s of this rusty-hued raptor has seen the species flourish. In fact, according to the Hawk Conservancy Trust, their survival remains one of the biggest conservation success stories in Great Britain.

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Red squirrel -

The red squirrel is protected in most of Europe, though in Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy populations have decreased in recent years. To help counter this decline, a project on the North Wales island of Anglesey saw the controlled eradication of the non-native North American grey squirrel to allow the successful reintroduction of the red squirrel into its natural pinewood habitat.

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Purple gallinule -

The purple gallinule is found in the wetlands in Spain, Portugal, southeastern France, and Italy. Its population in Portugal was restricted to the Algarve until an initiative called the Porphyrio Project successfully reintroduced the bird into the lower Mondego River valley in the country's central region.

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White stork -

The white stork's alarming decline can be dated back to industrialization and agricultural changes that Europe witnessed during the 19th century. A pan-European effort called the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds reintroduced this graceful bird to France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland, where its numbers have increased substantially.

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American bison -

One of North America's most iconic animals, the American bison went from numbering an estimated 60 million individuals before the 1870s to becoming nearly extinct in the 1880s. Today, the US Department of the Interior together with other bison conservation partners, including Native American tribes and Canadian First Nations, have successfully reintroduced the bison to numerous national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands in the US, Canada, and parts of Mexico.

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American flamingo -

One of the more unusual wildlife reintroduction programs was the reintroduction of the American flamingo to the salt ponds of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands in 1992. The initiative was the idea of the Rhode Island-based Conservation Agency.

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Black-footed ferret -

Listed as Endangered by the IUCN, the black-footed ferret, a native of North America, was first reintroduced into sites in various states after its numbers benefited from selective breeding programs. Reintroduction sites have since experienced multiple years of reproduction from released individuals.

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Blue-and-gold macaw -

Once native to the island of Trinidad, populations of the blue-and-gold macaw were near decimated after the destruction of their habitat and trapping for the illegal pet trade. Since the 1990s, the island's Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust has slowly reintroduced this dazzling member of the parrot family to their natural home, the Nariva Wetlands.

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Canada lynx -

Besides Canada, the Canada lynx ranges across Alaska and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It used to call Colorado home, but by 1973 had all but disappeared from the state. In 1999, 41 lynx were brought into Colorado from remote areas of Canada and Alaska. Their numbers have since increased annually, with the cats monitored carefully by Colorado Parks & Wildlife.

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Bighorn sheep -

Two hundred years ago, bighorn sheep numbered around 200,000 animals. By 1950, their numbers had been decimated, a result of unregulated hunting and habitat destruction. Many state and federal agencies have actively pursued the restoration of bighorn sheep since the 1940s, with varying degrees of success. A highlight is the reintroduction of bighorn into Oregon.

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Black-tailed prairie dog -

Viewed by many landowners as vermin, the black-tailed prairie dog has seen its numbers significantly reduced in some regions of the United States. In Arizona, the rodent was effectively eradicated in the 1960s due mainly to systematic poisoning. In 2008, the Arizona Game and Fish Department began reintroduction efforts of the species to southern Arizona. Five hundred individuals translocated from colonies in New Mexico and Sonora, Mexico, have since matured into several thousand.

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Elk -

The reintroduction of elk into national parks and forests in US states as diverse as Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Tennessee, has secured the future of this animal, one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America.

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Fisher -

The fisher is a little-known mammal native to North America, in Canada and across the northern United States. Trapped for their pelts since the 1800s, the fisher became locally extinct in several parts of the United States, including Washington state. In response, local authorities in Washington initiated a reintroduction program, the success of which has seen the mammal protected and a no trapping season enforced.

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Grey wolf -

The successful reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 has been celebrated around the world. This iconic creature was also reintroduced to Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, California, Oregon, and Washington, recovering sufficiently enough to have been delisted from the Endangered Species Act in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

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Muskox -

Native to the Arctic, the muskox is a creature built for the cold. But by 1900, overhunting had wiped out the population in Alaska. In the 1930s, in an effort to save this stocky, long-haired animal from local extinction, muskox from other herds were translocated to establish new herds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Today, more than 3,500 muskoxen call Alaska home.

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North American river otter -

Another animal overhunted for its pelt, the North American river otter has been virtually eliminated through many parts of its range. Not so in Missouri, though, where thanks to the reintroduction of the species and private and public landowner efforts to conserve streams, ponds, and lakes, this powerful streamlined swimmer is thriving.

Sources: (IUCN) (Butterfly Conservation) (Hawk Conservancy Trust) (National Park Service) (The Conservation Agency) 

See also: Animals that came back from the brink of extinction. 

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