What works: species back from the brink

Iberian lynx: the greatest recovery of any cat

Where: Spain and Portugal. Status: moved from Endangered to Vulnerable in June 2024.

In 2001, only 62 adult Iberian lynx remained. By 2022 there were 648, and the total population, including young, exceeded 2,000. The area it occupies grew from 449 km² in 2005 to at least 3,320 km² today. The IUCN describes it as the greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved.

What worked:

• restoring populations of the European rabbit, its main prey;
• protecting and restoring its Mediterranean scrub and woodland habitat;
• reducing deaths caused by human activities;
• a captive breeding programme, translocations to mix genes, and more than 400 lynx reintroduced in Spain and Portugal since 2010;
• European funding (the LIFE programme) and collaboration between public bodies, scientists, NGOs, businesses, landowners, farmers, gamekeepers and hunters.

But: the lynx is still exposed to poaching, road collisions, diseases carried by domestic cats and outbreaks that hit rabbit populations.

Green turtle: from Endangered to Least Concern

Where: tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Status: moved from Endangered to Least Concern in October 2025.

According to the IUCN, the global green turtle population has grown by about 28% since the 1970s. Successes have been especially strong on Ascension Island and in Brazil, Mexico and Hawaiʻi.

What worked:

• protecting nesting females and their eggs on beaches;
• community programmes to reduce the harvest of turtles and eggs;
• tighter control of trade;
• turtle excluder devices fitted to fishing nets, which let turtles escape.

But: green turtles remain far less abundant than they once were, and threats persist (harvest, bycatch, coastal development, climate change).

Mountain gorilla: "progress, not victory"

Where: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Status: moved from Critically Endangered to Endangered in November 2018.

In the 1980s, only a few hundred mountain gorillas remained. Their numbers were estimated at around 680 in 2008, then more than 1,000 in 2018. The mountain gorilla is a subspecies of the eastern gorilla.

What worked:

• cooperation between the three countries, conservation organizations and neighbouring communities;
• a very strong ranger presence on the ground and action against poaching;
• veterinary care for injured or sick gorillas, including those caught in snares.

But: snares set for other animals remain a danger, and scientists stress that the line between the two categories is razor thin.

Kākāpō: a record after 30 years of effort

Where: New Zealand. Status: still Critically Endangered.

In 1995, only 51 kākāpō were known. On 1 September 2026, the population reached 325 birds, its highest level since the recovery programme began. Kākāpō live on predator-free islands, and every bird is monitored individually.

Read the kākāpō page

Hainan gibbon: from 13 to 42

Where: Hainan Island, China. Status: still Critically Endangered.

In 2003, only two family groups, 13 gibbons in all, remained. By 2025 there were 42. Patrols, planting fruit trees, a rope bridge across a gap in the forest and a new national park: every measure counted.

Read the Hainan gibbon page

What these successes teach us

• It takes time. None of these successes took less than twenty years. Sustained effort and long-term funding make the difference.
• Tackle the causes. Species recover when we act on what is killing them: poaching, bycatch, introduced predators, lack of food.
• Work with local people. Farmers, fishers, hunters and residents are part of almost every one of these stories.
• Don’t let up. A species that is doing better is still fragile. Downlistings are milestones, not finish lines.