Back to the Wild

1 minute read
The eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is a species of large nonvenomous colubrid snake native to the Eastern United States. It is of note as being the longest native snake species in the U.S.
The eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is a species of large nonvenomous colubrid snake native to the Eastern United States. It is of note as being the longest native snake species in the U.S.Danita Delimont—Gallo Images/Getty Images
By Kate Samuelson

Wild tigers are being reintroduced in Kazakhstan, 70 years after they became extinct there because of habitat loss and poaching. The WWF-supported project, which involves the restoration of a forest, is the latest in a series of wild releases.

ORYX IN CHAD

In August, Abu Dhabi’s Environmental Agency released 54 captivity-bred scimitar-horned oryx into the wild on the edge of the Sahara desert in Chad. The species of antelope was driven to extinction in the Central African country following civil unrest in the 1980s.

SNAKES IN THE U.S.

Twelve threatened eastern indigo snakes, the longest snake native to the U.S., which can grow up to 9 ft., were reintroduced to northern Florida in July by a coalition of local conservation groups. They hope to release indigo snakes into the wild every year for a decade.

BEAVERS IN THE U.K.

Beavers from Norway were released in Scotland’s lochs and rivers in 2009, almost 400 years after being hunted to extinction in the U.K. The rodents have since created new wetlands and helped regulate flooding, and were given official native-species status in Scotland in ’16.

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Write to Kate Samuelson at kate.samuelson@time.com