
Kazakhstan has successfully doubled its snow leopard population to around 180. The country’s ecology minister says, “Thanks to efforts in protecting and monitoring snow leopards, we have increased their population from the critical levels of the 1990s by more than twofold, reaching around 180 individuals.”
Kazakhstan is a large, mostly empty country, with over a million square miles of land — bigger than western Europe — but only about 20 million people.
Kazakhstan has done a number of things to restore snow leopard numbers. 14,000 square miles of specially protected areas have been established to protect snow leopard habitats, covering 70% of the territories that snow leopards live in.
“Modern methods such as camera traps and satellite telemetry are being widely used for population monitoring. For instance, 11 snow leopards have been fitted with satellite collars, and the data collected will help improve the network of protected areas.” Kazakhstan has also strengthened its regional efforts, signing an agreement with the neighboring country of Kyrgyzstan, one of the world’s most remote countries, to protect snow leopards.
Wild horses recently returned to Kazakhstan after being absent for two hundred years.
Mountain gorillas are making a comeback in Rwanda.
Bengal tigers are making a comeback in Bangladesh, as are Asian antelopes and olive ridley turtles, even though Bangladesh is one of the world’s most densely-populated nations, with nearly as many people per square mile than cities like Atlanta. (Bangladesh has more than 170 million people living in an area the size of Arkansas).
A giant fish believed to be extinct was found in the Mekong River.
Endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs have come back from near extinction. “After nearly disappearing for good, Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs are once again hopping happily around California’s alpine lakes,” reports Smithsonian Magazine.
Crocodiles are making a comeback in Cambodia. Crocodiles are also flourishing in Australia after previously coming close to extinction there.
A giant pangolin was spotted in Senegal after being absent from that West African country for a quarter century.