As the Director of the Endangered Species Interventions Program at Bat Conservation International, I spend a lot of my time working with partners worldwide to prevent the extinction of threatened bat species. Like any rare species it is a challenging task but their nocturnal and elusive behaviour can make protecting bats especially challenging. This is […]
Lost & Found
Return of the Mac: The resurgence of Macquarie Island and the Subantarctic Bedstraw
Realising that you’ve made a mistake is usually a discouraging experience, but there are a few exceptions to the rule. Realising that a presumed extinct species is still alive and kicking is one of these happy exceptions. Cases of mistaken extinction are more common than you might think, especially if it is a species that […]
A Tropical Triumph: Saving the Jamaican Iguana
The Jamaican Iguana has a dramatic boom-and-bust history. Described as abundant by renowned 17th century Irish aristocrat-cum-naturalist Sir Hans Sloane, only 250 years later it would be all but gone. Endemic to Jamaica, it was declared extinct in 1948, having not been seen alive for eight years. The introduction of the small Indian mongoose was […]
Stumbling Upon an “Extinct” Rodent on the Edge
A rat may not sound like an animal worth caring about. But, the San Quentin kangaroo rat (Dipodomys gravipes) is not your ordinary rodent. Kangaroo rats get around by jumping on their two hind legs like miniature, pouch-less kangaroos. One of the 22 species of kangaroo rat, the San Quentin kangaroo rat exists only in […]
Who’s Protecting Who? The rediscovery of the Black Softshell turtle in the wild
The deity, Vishnu, is a powerful figure within Hinduism. As a formless, abstract being, he is only recognizable in his reincarnations. In one of his appearances, Vishnu appears as half man – half tortoise. This second turtle avatar, referred to as Kurma, helps “restore the cosmic equilibrium” in times of crisis, returning to the earth […]
How to Get the First Photo of an Extinct Monkey
There had been no trace of Bouvier’s red colobus monkey (Piliocolobus bouvieri) since the 1970s. In 2008, after almost 40 years without a recorded sighting, scientists considered it extinct. Bouvier’s red colobus is so rare that if you google it, you won’t find a single picture of it on the internet. This monkey lives in […]
19 years for a moustache
The moustached mystery The existence of the Guadalcanal moustached kingfisher, also known as the Mbarikuku, had remained a mystery to scientists for decades. Having a large, orange and white body with a prominent blue “moustache” and blue wings, the species is very showy. However, due to its secluded environment, it has remained poorly documented and […]
Playing Hide and Go Seek in Kalalau Valley
Hawai’i is easily one of the most isolated places on earth, home to over ten thousand species found nowhere else in the world; each arriving as a castaway through the agency of wind and sea thousands of years before human habitation. Without the threat of predation or competition, Hawaii’s native plants and animals developed remarkable […]
Hunting for a Harlequin – rediscovering the Jambato harlequin frog
The Jambato harlequin frog was not always a rarity. Many villagers from the mountains of northern Ecuador remember the days when the little frog was a common sight: dwelling in damp corners of their houses, being prodded by curious children, and not infrequently being ground up for medicine. Amphibian of the Andes The Jambato harlequin […]
The Cuban Solenodon: Is it a goat; is it a bird… no it’s a dinosaur rat!
If I told you that I knew an animal that smelled like a goat, chirped like a bird, kills with its saliva and runs on its tip-toes, you wouldn’t believe me- right? So there’s not a lot of point in my writing this, given that you believe my subject to be completely imaginary. Okay, now […]