United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 21-3057 ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SPECIAL MEMORIES ZOO, ET AL., Defendants-Appellees. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. No. 20-C-216 — William C. Griesbach, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED JUNE 7, 2022 — DECIDED AUGUST 1, 2022 ____________________

Before HAMILTON, KIRSCH, and JACKSON-AKIWUMI, Circuit Judges. JACKSON-AKIWUMI, Circuit Judge. The sole issue in this ap- peal is whether the district court erroneously denied fees and costs to the Animal Legal Defense Fund after it obtained a de- fault judgment on its claim under the Endangered Species Act. ALDF sued Special Memories Zoo and its owners and manager under the Act’s citizen-suit provision, see 16 U.S.C. § 1540(g)(1), for mistreatment of endangered and threatened 2