EXPLORE WILD HOPE

The mountain gorilla, a critically endangered subspecies of the eastern gorilla, has faced a dramatic decline over the past century. By the early 20th century, their population had dwindled due to habitat loss, poaching, and the spread of diseases from humans. At its lowest point in the 1980s, the mountain gorilla population was reduced to fewer than 250 individuals, with their survival hanging by a thread.

The smaller and rarer of the two African rhino species, the black rhinoceros has faced steep decline since the early 20th century.

Tigers are one of the most iconic faces of wildlife conservation worldwide. These species are still endangered, but indeed on the rise — although it wasn't long ago that tiger populations teetered on the edge of extinction.

Humpback whales are truly a global species. These mammals have one of the longest migrations around, traveling up to 10,000 miles in a single year — and their beautiful, complex songs are heard by sailors and tourists in every corner of the globe.

Sea otters are a marine mammal beloved by many, but it wasn't long ago that they teetered on the brink of extinction. The international fur trade decimated sea otter populations starting in the 1700s, and by the early 1900s, their wild population fell to less than 1% of their original numbers.

The bald eagle has been a national symbol of the United States since 1782 — but not that long ago, this iconic species was on the verge of a complete extinction.

The California condor is a North American wildlife icon — the continent's largest land birds and one of nature's most industrious scavengers — and also one of our most critically endangered avian species.

Our relationship with gray wolves is a complicated one, spanning centuries of tension and dating back to the beginning in the 1600s with North American colonization.

The recovery of the American Alligator is considered one of the biggest success stories of an endangered species – ever.

Along the Pacific coastlines of North America, the Northern Elephant Seal may be a common sight in today's waters — but that wasn't always the case.