In 1973, the US passed the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). Over the last 50 years, it has helped save hundreds of cherished species, including the American alligator and bald eagle, from the brink of extinction. The Endangered Species Act grants special rights to threatened species, making killing them a felony, punishable by up to a year in prison, outlaws hunting, wounding, harassing, trapping, or exporting them, regulates the use of pesticides, and forbids any action that could harm critical habitat. Over the past few decades, the Endangered Species Act has taken 1,600 species under its wing 99% have been saved from extinction. 110 have recovered enough to no longer be considered threatened at all, among them peregrine falcons and humpback whales.