Grizzly bears

Grizzlies are so iconic to the American west it’s hard to imagine those landscapes without them. And yet, hunting and habitat loss caused a huge dwindling of their distinct communities—from 37 to 31, with a total population of 50,000 dwindled to a handful.

The remaining five communities were vigorously protected under the Endangered Species Act when it was enacted in the 1970s—including one in Yellowstone National Park. Some 2,000 bears now roam wild, although a recent ruling to remove them from the threatened list was overturned by a federal judge in September of 2810, reports NPR.