Protecting Species Stories

Indigenous rangers in Australia reconnecting to their traditional territories.

Recovering species is essential for effective wildlife conservation and critical to the work WWF does around the world. Here are just a few of our favorite, recent recovery stories.

Did you know that Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong region is home to a remarkable 44 species of primates?

From morning coffee before setting out on their journey, to installing camera traps, to stories of run-ins with tigers, follow a day in the life of a tiger tracking team in Nepal. 

Only 366 critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are left, experts say, representing a shocking 8% decline in a single year and the lowest number in about 20 years for this iconic species. Human impacts—specifically entanglements in fixed fishing gear and vessel strikes from ship traffic—remain the biggest threats to the survival of this species.

WWF-India is in the process of fitting GPS-enabled collars on wild elephants to better understand the animals’ basic movements and help local communities.

Celebrating 5 of our favorite wildlife species living in forest habitats around the world.

A deadly crisis is spreading across Southeast Asia, silently emptying forests of wildlife. Snaring impacts over 700 mammal species in the region, including rare animals such as the Asian elephant.

Every fall, the Ryrkaipiy polar bear patrol, with the support of WWF Russia, works to protect the community and prevent human-wildlife conflict. Tatyana Minenko has been leading the patrol team since 2006. That’s when the climate crisis increased conflict in her village.

Since 2016, Facebook and WWF have been working together to address wildlife trafficking by detecting and removing illicit activity that fuels the trade in wildlife and its products on one of the largest social media platforms in the world. As part of this effort, Facebook launched a new pop-up interstitial alert message that will inform users about illegal wildlife trade when certain wildlife-related search words are entered.

WWF is helping to support Australia’s first large-scale collaborative camera trap project.

Thirty Hills is the last large block of intact, lowland forest still standing in central Sumatra. After five years of successful forest conservation, we celebrate five major wins within this critically important landscape.

A new WWF report details a vibrant diversity of plants and vertebrate animals in Southeast Asia that have never been scientifically identified.

The Elephant Conservation Unit of WWF-Malaysia uses collaring to learn more about the elephants in Sabah. The information they collect from these collars helps the conservationists better protect the elephants and develop strategies to reduce instances of human wildlife conflict. 

Since 1970, global populations of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have declined an average of 70%. For freshwater species, the situation is even bleaker; in that same time frame, populations have declined by 84%, and 1 in 3 freshwater species are now threatened with extinction. Being mindful of what species are at risk in the marine and freshwater environments can help you protect these animals from disappearing for good and enjoy your seafood responsibly.

In the heart of the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha stands as a model for stability and peace—and a safe place for elephants and gorillas to roam.

Six months ago, bushfires ravaged Kangaroo Island. The endangered glossy black cockatoo was pushed to the brink of extinction. But chicks were recently discovered amid burnt bushland, boosting hopes that the species can be saved.

In Malaysian state of Sabah, WWF is helping to establish a wildlife corridor through a palm oil plantation to connect two reserves, which will protect crops and allow wildlife to roam freely.

In the aftermath of Australia’s devastating bushfires, WWF deployed field detection dogs to help locate surviving wildlife. During five days of searches in January 2020, the dogs found 10 koalas.

Tiger King, Netflix’s new docu-series, is roaring with popularity, but behind the drama, there is a frightful truth: captive tigers in the United States are a significant conservation issue and could impact tigers in the wild.

In Nepal, citizen scientists are working with biologists from WWF to help protect tigers, rhinos, elephants, and other wildlife found in Bardia National Park.

Illegal killings of rhinos in South Africa are on the decline. In 2019, poachers killed 594 rhinos, down from 769 in the year prior, according to South Africa’s Department of the Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries.

Leigh Henry, WWF’s Director of Wildlife Policy, recently returned from a trip to China – the country where tiger farms started back in the 1980s. Leigh and her colleagues visited one of the world’s largest tiger farms– the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park – in the northeast corner of China. This is what she saw on her visit.

Two years ago this month, China took the monumental step of banning elephant ivory trade within the country. Dec. 31, 2017 was the last day it was legal to buy or sell ivory there.