Animals That Are No Longer Endangered
- Julianna Covarrubias
- Dec 29, 2025
- 2 min read
Among the plethora of news that comes out day by day, exciting environmental developments can get lost. Here are some animals that lost their "endangered" label within the past few years.
In 2021, China announced that the Giant Panda, more commonly known as the Panda Bear or just the Panda, was no longer an endangered species. Deforestation, encroachment, and poaching put the Panda Bear species in a precarious situation, with their numbers reported at around 1,000 individuals during the 1970s. Since then, conservation efforts have allowed the species to flourish and grow in numbers. Pandas International, a nonprofit organization centered in the U.S. that worked to protect the species, has finally closed its doors after 25 long years. Their goal is all but diminished, as they have highlighted the importance of wildlife conservation efforts and managed to garner international support and awareness towards the Pandas’ cause. Today, the Panda population in the wild has doubled, with hundreds more in zoos.
The southern white rhinos of Africa, often hunted for their horns, have made a miraculous recovery thanks to conservation efforts. Today, there are numbers reported to be around 15 to 20 thousand in the wild, most of which live in protected areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Kenya. Their revitalization continues to motivate efforts towards helping the critically endangered northern white rhinos, though the situation isn’t as optimistic. With just two females, Najin and Fatu, living under the protection of Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the northern white rhinos have been declared functionally extinct.
In 2022, the humpback whale was taken off Australia’s endangered list, a species that was once recorded at just only 1,500 individuals within Australian waters. Today, their populations have risen to an impressive 50 to 60 thousand whales within Australian waters, with numbers reaching as high as 80 to 100 thousand worldwide.
While many species are back to flourishing and playing their role in the circle of life, it’s important to know that they also lose the protections that come with an endangered status. Due to this, the responsibility of conserving the homes of our wildlife falls to us.
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