Countless efforts to protect endangered species are being made around the world every day, week, month, year. Whether it is a tiny fish or a massive elephant, researchers often identify the main problems with the population of the species and sooner or later conservation efforts are launched. Sometimes efforts fail or are inadequate or it is just too late and a species cannot be saved from extinction in the wild. Other times, however, conservation efforts achieve exactly what they are designed to do.
Now, in new research published in “Conservation Letters”, researchers have crunched the numbers of many endangered species, comparing their progress over time and examining how conservation efforts have affected them. They found that up to 48 species from many animal groups have been saved since 1993, when certain laws were passed that helped conservationists protect wildlife.