Central American crocodile recovers and crawls off endangered species list

Sometimes conservation plans work so well that once-endangered species no longer need protection. That’s the case in Central America, where the Morelet’s crocodile ( Crocodylus moreletii ) has recovered enough that many of the protections put in place decades ago to help it are now on the verge of being lifted. Once heavily hunted for their skin, which was heavily valued as a source of high-quality leather, the Morelet’s crocodile began its slow climb toward survival back in 1970, when Mexico (where most of the animals live) banned hunting of all crocodiles and caimans.

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Central American crocodile recovers and crawls off endangered species list