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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/rediscovered-species/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:55:47 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Rediscovered Species</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/rediscovered-species/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>How birders in Chad ‘found’ the rusty lark, a bird lost to science for nearly a century</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2026 12:47:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10163732/Rusty-Lark-260202-mirafra_Mongo_feb26%C2%A9Birard_DefosduRau_pm4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323087</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Chad, and Sahel]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Environment, Rediscovered Species, Research, Species, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The morning of Feb. 2, 2026, started like many others for Pierre Defos du Rau and Julien Birard: It was hot and sunny with a gentle breeze, ideal birding weather. The two French ornithologists, who have been birding since their teens and have traveled the world in search of birds, were at Abou Telfane Game [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The morning of Feb. 2, 2026, started like many others for Pierre Defos du Rau and Julien Birard: It was hot and sunny with a gentle breeze, ideal birding weather. The two French ornithologists, who have been birding since their teens and have traveled the world in search of birds, were at Abou Telfane Game Reserve in central Chad, looking for migratory birds that visit Sahelian wetlands. The duo has surveyed birds in Chad since 2016, they said, keeping detailed records of the winged visitors that fly across the Mediterranean and the Sahara Desert to overwinter in the Sahel every year, and catch any signs of trouble. Birds in the region face many threats: The construction of cities and farms drains their wetland homes; droughts — made more intense and frequent in a warming world — dry up water bodies; and some migratory species are hunted as bushmeat in conflict-prone countries, where food is scarce. Defos du Rau works at the French Biodiversity Agency, while Birard is at the nonprofit Tour du Valat Research Institute. On that early February day, they were joined by Idriss Dapsia and Abakar Saleh Wachoum from the Chadian governmental department for wildlife and protected areas, as part of a collaboration between the two countries for biodiversity monitoring. The team started the day with a plan in mind. “We had set ourselves the (unlikely) goal of searching for the Kordofan rufous sparrow,” Birard said, referring to a species found only in southwestern Sudan and across the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323087</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Rediscovered’ species in Papua spotlight importance of Indigenous knowledge</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/rediscovered-species-in-papua-spotlights-importance-of-indigenous-knowledge/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/rediscovered-species-in-papua-spotlights-importance-of-indigenous-knowledge/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Apr 2026 02:22:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/14103750/20230611-BE4A9979-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317487</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Oceania, Papua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Mammals, Marsupials, Rediscovered Species, Research, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It started with a set of photographs, taken of an animal captured in 2015 on the Bird’s Head Peninsula in Indonesian Papua, the western half of the island of New Guinea. The smallish animal with “large hands” looked a bit like a slow loris, a small primate that doesn’t live on the island, or perhaps [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It started with a set of photographs, taken of an animal captured in 2015 on the Bird’s Head Peninsula in Indonesian Papua, the western half of the island of New Guinea. The smallish animal with “large hands” looked a bit like a slow loris, a small primate that doesn’t live on the island, or perhaps a cuscus, which, like this specimen, is also a marsupial. Further inspection of the photos, however, suggested it might be something else altogether, a species long thought lost to extinction — by scientists, anyway. Interviews in local communities provided a breadcrumb trail suggesting that a forest-dwelling glider, known — again, to science — only from millennia-old fragments of teeth and bone, might yet live in the forests of Indonesian Papua. Several years later, Rika Korain was approached by her longtime friend and colleague, Australian mammalogist Tim Flannery, who asked if she might help him get a bead on whether the animal still existed. Korain, a human rights lawyer and Indigenous Maybrat woman, immediately thought of the elders from the Tambrauw people, a group that lives close to the Maybrat and with whom they share traditions in common. “I’m from the Bird’s Head area,” she says. “I told [Flannery], let’s find out from my clan, from my people’s side. Let’s try to talk with the elders or especially the hunters who always go to the jungle to find out whether they see this particular animal.” So in 2023, she and Flannery spoke with two Tambrauw elders,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/rediscovered-species-in-papua-spotlights-importance-of-indigenous-knowledge/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/rediscovered-species-in-papua-spotlights-importance-of-indigenous-knowledge/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317487</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Once lost, now found: Five &#8220;missing&#8221; bird species rediscovered in 2025, offering hope</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/once-lost-now-found-five-missing-bird-species-rediscovered-in-2025-offering-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/once-lost-now-found-five-missing-bird-species-rediscovered-in-2025-offering-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Apr 2026 14:36:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/03143057/R-Flycatcher-e1775244630783-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316945</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Oceania, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Rediscovered Species, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Five “missing” bird species — not seen, heard or documented in the wild for a decade or more — were “found” in 2025, according to the 2026 annual update to the Lost Birds List. It’s a tally of species that haven’t been photographed, recorded or their genetic footprint detected for more than a decade. Another [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Five “missing” bird species — not seen, heard or documented in the wild for a decade or more — were “found” in 2025, according to the 2026 annual update to the Lost Birds List. It’s a tally of species that haven’t been photographed, recorded or their genetic footprint detected for more than a decade. Another extraordinary rediscovery came earlier this year: A bird “missing” for 94 years was documented in Chad. With the new changes, the overall number of “lost” birds, as defined in a 2022 study, dropped to 120 from the 163 listed when the list was first published in 2022. The list is maintained by the Search for Lost Birds project, a global partnership between the NGOs American Bird Conservancy, Re:wild and BirdLife International. Six species considered lost since 2016 will be added to the list in 2026. Unlike the IUCN Red List, which tracks the extinction risk of species over time through extensive periodic assessments, the “lost species” list flags those that haven’t been documented in a long time — the first signs of trouble before they vanish forever. John Mittermeier, director of the Search for Lost Birds project, called the list an “early warning system” for birds not seen in a while. He said it helps “fill conservation data gaps” before rigorous assessments catch up and spur action to protect species that might “potentially slip between the cracks.” Every year, Mittermeier and his team scour through public birding platforms, such as eBird, iNaturalist, Xeno-Canto and others,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/once-lost-now-found-five-missing-bird-species-rediscovered-in-2025-offering-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/once-lost-now-found-five-missing-bird-species-rediscovered-in-2025-offering-hope/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316945</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Citizen science rediscovers rare South African moth</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/citizen-science-rediscovers-rare-south-african-moth/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/citizen-science-rediscovers-rare-south-african-moth/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Feb 2026 13:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/11114336/Drepanogynis-insciata-Cameron-Scott-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314094</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Citizen Science, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Grasslands, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Insects, Moths, Rediscovered Species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A strikingly handsome emerald-green moth, lost to science for nearly one-and-a-half centuries, has been rediscovered in South Africa by citizen scientists who posted photographs of it online. The moth, Drepanogynis insciata, whose body and wing margins look as though they’ve been stained with red wine, was thought to be extinct. The species hadn’t been recorded [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A strikingly handsome emerald-green moth, lost to science for nearly one-and-a-half centuries, has been rediscovered in South Africa by citizen scientists who posted photographs of it online. The moth, Drepanogynis insciata, whose body and wing margins look as though they’ve been stained with red wine, was thought to be extinct. The species hadn’t been recorded since two male specimens were collected near the Western Cape town of Swellendam around 1875. Scientists only knew of the moth from those two faded specimens, which are kept in London’s Natural History Museum. However, according to a recent article in ZooKeys, a dozen separate sightings were recorded in four different locations between 2020 and 2023 and uploaded onto iNaturalist, the citizen science website. They were the first photographs ever taken of live specimens. Male specimens of Drepanogynis insciata have now been observed in the Gondwana Private Nature Reserve on four occasions. Image courtesy of Mikael Englund. Screenshot of iNaturalist page showing pictures of D. insciata. When the first of those photographs, taken by Cameron Scott in the Gondwana Private Game Reserve, around 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of Swellendam, was uploaded to the site in September 2020, South African lepidopterist Hermann Staude got a tip-off about his intriguing picture. “I looked, and there it was — insciata — [a] living animal,” Staude told Mongabay. “That was quite an incredible feeling, to all of a sudden see something that you thought might have been extinct.” Staude asked Scott to catch a moth if he saw&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/citizen-science-rediscovers-rare-south-african-moth/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/citizen-science-rediscovers-rare-south-african-moth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314094</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Nepal, the world’s smallest otter continues to elude researchers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/in-nepal-the-worlds-smallest-otter-continues-to-elude-researchers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/in-nepal-the-worlds-smallest-otter-continues-to-elude-researchers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Dec 2025 05:34:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/22045750/Z50_7454-min-scaled-e1766379564645-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311840</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Conservation, Cryptic Species, Ecosystems, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Mammals, New Discovery, Pollution, Rediscovered Species, Rivers, Species, Species Discovery, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A year ago, the appearance of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal created a buzz, given that the species hadn’t been seen in the country in 185 years. Since then, however, it’s disappeared once again, with no confirmed sightings in the past year, leaving researchers flummoxed on the question of whether it’s still [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A year ago, the appearance of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal created a buzz, given that the species hadn’t been seen in the country in 185 years. Since then, however, it’s disappeared once again, with no confirmed sightings in the past year, leaving researchers flummoxed on the question of whether it’s still found in the country. The November 2024 discovery of a juvenile Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) in Dadeldhura district, on Nepal’s western border with India, left researchers hopeful of more sightings would follow. However, limited funding and difficulties in DNA analysis have left them relying on scattered clues rather than certainty, even as the species is formally incorporated into the country’s conservation plans. “Despite multiple reports of suspected signs, such as scats recovered from different river systems, there hasn’t been a second verified sighting of the Asian small-clawed otter anywhere in the country,” Mohan Bikram Shrestha, a leading otter researcher, told Mongabay. “We firmly believe that the animal is present in the eastern river systems as well.” The lone confirmed record from 2024 was remarkable not only for being the first recorded sighting since 1839, but also for raising the possibility that overlooked populations of the world’s smallest otter species might still roam Nepal’s rivers and wetlands. A rescued Asian small-clawed otter with its distinct webbed feet in Dadeldhura, Nepal. Image by Rajeev Chaudhary. Since then, however, there’s only been indirect evidence of a possible otter presence. Community members and researchers have collected suspected otter&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/in-nepal-the-worlds-smallest-otter-continues-to-elude-researchers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/in-nepal-the-worlds-smallest-otter-continues-to-elude-researchers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311840</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Mexico, world’s smallest turtle faces big threats from trafficking, habitat loss</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/in-mexico-worlds-smallest-turtle-faces-big-threats-from-trafficking-habitat-loss/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/in-mexico-worlds-smallest-turtle-faces-big-threats-from-trafficking-habitat-loss/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Nov 2025 11:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sandra Weiss]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/14104409/1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309409</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mexico, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Habitat Loss, Illegal Trade, Poaching, Rediscovered Species, Reptiles, Species, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It sounds like a scene out of the Ocean&#8217;s series of heist movies. Only this one didn’t happen in Las Vegas, but at a Mexican university campus surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. And it wasn’t about taking on a casino, but stealing valuable turtles. Armando Escobedo Galván, a biologist at Centro Universitario de la Costa [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It sounds like a scene out of the Ocean&#8217;s series of heist movies. Only this one didn’t happen in Las Vegas, but at a Mexican university campus surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. And it wasn’t about taking on a casino, but stealing valuable turtles. Armando Escobedo Galván, a biologist at Centro Universitario de la Costa (CUC) in Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, says he’s still startled about how the thieves tricked him last December. “Two people arrived at my office,” he recounts, “wearing uniforms of the environmental prosecutor&#8217;s office,” a federal agency known as PROFEPA. They said they were there for an inspection of his turtle program, asked for his permits, and cited corresponding laws. Everything during the two-hour procedure seemed completely normal. Then they asked to see the laboratory where the turtles were kept for scientific research: a climate-controlled container, secured with a padlock. That&#8217;s when the problems began. The officials criticized the way the turtles were being kept and complained about missing permits. Escobedo Galván says he started feeling stressed. They threatened to punish him, he says, so he was relieved when they offered instead to take 40 of the 100 turtles into their “protection” while he sorted out the necessary paperwork. “We&#8217;ll bring them back when everything is in order,” Escobedo Galván recalls them telling him. “That was a psychological masterpiece,” he says. “They put me under pressure and then offered a solution.” Measuring only 10 centimeters (4 inches) in length, the Vallarta mud turtle is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/in-mexico-worlds-smallest-turtle-faces-big-threats-from-trafficking-habitat-loss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309409</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After 160 years, an old drawing leads scientists to a long-lost Sri Lanka orchid</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2025 08:37:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/28082511/Vanda-thwaitesii-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305028</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Citizen Science, Conservation, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Hunting, Orchids, Plants, Rediscovered Species, Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In the mist-wrapped folds of Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range, a UNESCO-recognized world heritage site, where clouds softly wrap the rugged peaks in a soft embrace, a group of scientists recently stumbled upon a ghost from the island’s colonial past, in the form of a forgotten orchid. Nestled among the branches of forest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In the mist-wrapped folds of Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range, a UNESCO-recognized world heritage site, where clouds softly wrap the rugged peaks in a soft embrace, a group of scientists recently stumbled upon a ghost from the island’s colonial past, in the form of a forgotten orchid. Nestled among the branches of forest trees near a tributary of the Mahaweli River in Rangala, Kandy district, bloomed Vanda thwaitesii — a delicate orchid unseen in the wild for more than 160 years. The orchid had never been studied alive, even by eminent British botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, who described it in 1898 based on only two drawings by Haramanis de Alwis, the official draftsman at Sri Lanka’s Royal Botanic Gardens at the time. With no herbarium specimens collected, the plant slipped into obscurity and was widely presumed extinct. “Many assumed it had vanished from the Earth, so we were delighted to find it alive after all this time,” says Bhathiya Gopallawa, a Ph.D. candidate at Sri Lanka’s University of Peradeniya, who co-authored the paper announcing the rediscovery. Vanda thwaitesii is named after George Thwaites, a botanist and administrator who held the post of superintendent of the Royal Botanical Gardens located in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, for 30 years and also studied the flower through a 1961 drawing. Image by Bhathiya Gopallawa. A scientific twist The return of V. thwaitesii is also a testament to citizen science, a trait of many recent floral rediscoveries and finding of rare plants. Gopallawa and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305028</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Social media post sparks rediscovery of endemic Sri Lanka rainforest plant</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/social-media-post-sparks-rediscovery-of-endemic-sri-lanka-rainforest-plant/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/social-media-post-sparks-rediscovery-of-endemic-sri-lanka-rainforest-plant/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2025 03:31:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/26031644/1-Pini-beraliya-Flowers-c-Amila-Perera-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304897</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Extinction, Flowers, Green, Habitat Loss, Plants, Rediscovered Species, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In 2012, Sri Lanka’s National Red List delivered a grim verdict on endemic Pini- Beraliya, the towering dipterocarp Doona ovalifolia (syn. Shorea ovalifolia) tree by categorizing it as “extinct in the wild.” For decades, the species was known mainly from a single cultivated specimen in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya in central [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In 2012, Sri Lanka’s National Red List delivered a grim verdict on endemic Pini- Beraliya, the towering dipterocarp Doona ovalifolia (syn. Shorea ovalifolia) tree by categorizing it as “extinct in the wild.” For decades, the species was known mainly from a single cultivated specimen in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya in central Sri Lanka. That solitary tree, rising above the landscaped grounds, became a living relic of a vanished rainforest giant, a symbol of both loss and the faint hope that somewhere, perhaps, the species still survived. The first clue that Pini-Beraliya might still exist in the wild surfaced unexpectedly via a Facebook post. In May 2018, a member of the Facebook group “Medicinal Plant Identification” posted about the tree, requesting the group’s hundred thousand members to report any sightings. Within hours, Lasith Prageeth from Ayagama in Ratnapura district responded, “We have this tree in our village.” At first, the group’s administrators were cautious. Several related dipterocarp species occur in Sri Lanka, and misidentifications are common, so they requested photographs from Prageeth. When he uploaded images of the leaves, botanists quickly recognized it as a member of the Beraliya family. Still, confirmation required more than leaves. Pini-Beraliya seeds, with their distinctive two-winged fruits typical of the Dipterocarpus family, are adapted for wind dispersal. Image courtesy of Amila Perera. How rediscovery happened Curious and excited, group administrator Bhathiya Gopallawa suspected it might be just a small Beraliya sapling. But to his amazement, Prageeth revealed it was a fully&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/social-media-post-sparks-rediscovery-of-endemic-sri-lanka-rainforest-plant/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/social-media-post-sparks-rediscovery-of-endemic-sri-lanka-rainforest-plant/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304897</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World&#8217;s smallest snake spotted by scientists in Barbados after 20-year absence</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/worlds-smallest-snake-rediscovered-in-barbados-after-20-year-absence/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/worlds-smallest-snake-rediscovered-in-barbados-after-20-year-absence/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jul 2025 15:57:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/23152655/snake-face-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303064</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Barbados and Caribbean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Rediscovered Species, Reptiles, Snakes, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[&#8220;I was making a joke and in my head I said, &#8216;I smell a threadsnake,'&#8221; Justin Springer, Caribbean program officer for the NGO Re:wild, recalled. &#8220;I just had a feeling, but I couldn&#8217;t be sure because we turned over a lot of rocks before that and we saw nothing.&#8221; Springer’s intuition proved correct when his [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[&#8220;I was making a joke and in my head I said, &#8216;I smell a threadsnake,'&#8221; Justin Springer, Caribbean program officer for the NGO Re:wild, recalled. &#8220;I just had a feeling, but I couldn&#8217;t be sure because we turned over a lot of rocks before that and we saw nothing.&#8221; Springer’s intuition proved correct when his colleague, Connor Blades, pried a rock loose from under a tree root. There, in the soil of central Barbados, they found both an earthworm and the world&#8217;s smallest snake. Scientists had been searching for the Barbados threadsnake (Tetracheilostoma carlae) for more than a year. Before this day, the tiny snake, which measures just 7.5-10 centimeters (3-4 inches) long and is about the width of a spaghetti noodle, had not been observed by scientists for 20 years. Barbados threadsnake photographed on a coin in 2005. Image © Blair Hedges, Penn State, via Wikimedia Commons. &#8220;Barbados threadsnakes are blind snakes, so they&#8217;re very cryptic,&#8221; said Blades, a project officer with the Barbados environment ministry, referring to the tendency of blind snakes to spend most of their time underground. &#8220;They&#8217;re quite rare also, it seems. There have only been a handful of confirmed sightings since 1889, so there are not many people who have ever seen it, unfortunately.&#8221; The expedition was conducted in March by the environment ministry and Re:wild as part of the Conserving Barbados&#8217; Endemic Reptiles (CBER) project. On an island where many endemic species have been driven to extinction, finding this rare snake is a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/worlds-smallest-snake-rediscovered-in-barbados-after-20-year-absence/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303064</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scientists rediscover a Mexican rabbit they hadn’t seen in 120 years</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/scientists-rediscover-a-mexican-rabbit-they-hadnt-seen-in-120-years/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/scientists-rediscover-a-mexican-rabbit-they-hadnt-seen-in-120-years/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 May 2025 19:51:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Astrid Arellano]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/23115111/RCNX0025-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299558</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mexico, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Mammals, Rediscovered Species, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Footage captured in 2024 of a small rabbit hopping about in front of a camera trap had scientists baffled. The juvenile, with gray-brown fur and a black tail, didn’t resemble any known species in the Sierra Madre del Sur, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. Biologist Fernando Ruiz-Gutiérrez anxiously searched his records and consulted [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Footage captured in 2024 of a small rabbit hopping about in front of a camera trap had scientists baffled. The juvenile, with gray-brown fur and a black tail, didn’t resemble any known species in the Sierra Madre del Sur, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. Biologist Fernando Ruiz-Gutiérrez anxiously searched his records and consulted with colleagues to confirm his hypothesis. A few kilometers away, ecologist José Alberto Almazán-Catalán had the answer: having captured an adult specimen years earlier and conducted a series of studies, he now had irrefutable proof that the Omiltemi cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus insonus), believed to be extinct for the past 120 years, was still alive. The last time scientists knowingly encountered the Omiltemi cottontail was in 1904, when U.S. naturalist Edward William Nelson described it for the first time. Habitat loss, poaching and subsistence hunting have been the biggest threats to the species throughout its existence, which is why it took more than a century to rediscover the elusive rabbit, hidden in the forest. “It was very exciting to pin down an animal that we not only believed to be extinct but that also has an almost mythical quality, because the furs we have in Mexico are not as precise as we would like since they were not taken by a mammalogist but donated by campesinos [small-scale farmers],” says Almazán-Catalán, president of the Institute for the Management and Conservation of Biodiversity (INMACOB), a Mexican NGO. “We really weren’t sure this rabbit existed. It could’ve been an&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/scientists-rediscover-a-mexican-rabbit-they-hadnt-seen-in-120-years/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/scientists-rediscover-a-mexican-rabbit-they-hadnt-seen-in-120-years/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299558</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Discovery of critically endangered bat in Rwanda leads to conservation talks</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/discovery-of-critically-endangered-bat-in-rwanda-leads-to-conservation-talks/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/discovery-of-critically-endangered-bat-in-rwanda-leads-to-conservation-talks/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Apr 2025 16:17:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimable Twahirwa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/25144732/image1_Bats_roost_Rwanda-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298201</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Rwanda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bats, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat Loss, Mammals, Rediscovered Species, Research, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KIGALI, Rwanda ― Following the recent rediscovery of the critically endangered Hill’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli) at Nyungwe National Park in southwestern Rwanda, researchers are calling for actions and policies aimed at their conservation. Scientists say that this is the first sighting and documentation of the horseshoe bat Rhinolophus webalaiin the park and Rwanda’s first [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KIGALI, Rwanda ― Following the recent rediscovery of the critically endangered Hill’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli) at Nyungwe National Park in southwestern Rwanda, researchers are calling for actions and policies aimed at their conservation. Scientists say that this is the first sighting and documentation of the horseshoe bat Rhinolophus webalaiin the park and Rwanda’s first observation of the Damara woolly bat (Kerivoula argentata) since it was last observed in 1981. According to Paul Webala, a senior lecturer in wildlife biology at the department of forestry and wildlife management at Kenya’s Maasai Mara University, scientists consider bats the second-most diverse group of mammals after rodents. In countries like Rwanda, he says, where most of the natural forests and savannah habitats have been lost, altered or degraded, bats may comprise “at least 40% of the overall mammal diversity.” According to a 2022 study that Webala co-authored, insectivorous bats in Rwanda provide critical ecosystem services and also act as pest controllers in agricultural areas. Health concerns, and habitat loss “In Rwanda, one of the [bat] species of concern, although not threatened according to the IUCN Red List, is the Egyptian fruit bat [Rousettus aegyptiacus] because it has been identified by health officials as a natural reservoir host for the Marburg virus disease,” Webala says. In February this year, Rwandan health officials decided to construct a wall in a mining site located in Nyamirambo a suburb of the capital city Kigali separating a working area from the bats’ habitat. “This barrier is intended to reduce&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/discovery-of-critically-endangered-bat-in-rwanda-leads-to-conservation-talks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298201</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A century later, a rare mushroom with a curious shape emerges in Sri Lanka</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-century-later-a-rare-mushroom-with-a-curious-shape-emerges-in-sri-lanka/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-century-later-a-rare-mushroom-with-a-curious-shape-emerges-in-sri-lanka/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2025 04:01:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/26034603/0-The-mushroom-c-Sajeewa-Wijeweera-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296473</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Citizen Science, Conservation, Ecology, Endangered Species, Environment, Fungi, Rediscovered Species, Research, and Species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In July 2023, heavy rains continued in southern Sri Lanka for days, soaking the lush greenery of the village of Hapugala in Galle. Amid the downpour, journalist and naturalist Sajeewa Wijeweera received an unexpected call — not from the wild, but from just across his garden. His wife, Sirangika Lokukaravita, had spotted something [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In July 2023, heavy rains continued in southern Sri Lanka for days, soaking the lush greenery of the village of Hapugala in Galle. Amid the downpour, journalist and naturalist Sajeewa Wijeweera received an unexpected call — not from the wild, but from just across his garden. His wife, Sirangika Lokukaravita, had spotted something strange emerging from the wet soil: a vivid red mushroom with a bulbous base, bizarre and eye-catching in form. Experienced in nature observation, Wijeweera suspected this wasn’t just another garden fungus. He turned to plant identification apps, but it was not possible to identify the mushroom. Intrigued, he sent the images to a network of botanists, hoping for a clue. The mushroom is about 15 centimeters (6 inches) long. Image courtesy of Sajeewa Wijeweera. One of the first to respond was Bhathiya Gopallawa, a doctoral researcher at the University of Peradeniya. “This looks like a mushroom not recorded from Sri Lanka before,” he said — a comment that turned casual curiosity into scientific excitement. After digging through mycological records, the team identified the specimen as Mutinus bambusinus, a rare stinkhorn mushroom that hadn’t been documented in Sri Lanka in more than a century. The only known record dated back to 1919, when it was found growing in decomposing bamboo debris. While the species is known from other tropical regions, its reappearance in Sri Lanka, especially outside a bamboo grove, was remarkable. “There were no bamboos in that area for as long as I can remember,”&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-century-later-a-rare-mushroom-with-a-curious-shape-emerges-in-sri-lanka/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296473</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A tale of two frogs: The tough uphill battle for rediscovered species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/a-tale-of-two-frogs-the-tough-uphill-battle-for-rediscovered-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/a-tale-of-two-frogs-the-tough-uphill-battle-for-rediscovered-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jun 2024 14:55:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Katarina Zimmer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/03140608/EIGHT_GuanujoAtJambatu-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282826</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, North America, South America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Frogs, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, New Discovery, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When lost or assumed-extinct species are rediscovered, they often face a long rocky road to population recovery — especially if they’re an amphibian.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2021, a group of scientists in Ecuador looked in disbelief at a photo of a chocolate-colored frog with an orange belly. The researchers wondered: Could it be Atelopus guanujo — the Guanujo stubfoot toad — a species of harlequin frog that hadn’t been seen since 1988 and thought to be extinct? At first, “you can’t really believe that you’re looking at a lost species!” said conservation biologist Andrea Terán-Valdez, a research team member from the Jambatu Center for Amphibian Research and Conservation in San Rafael. A. guanujo, once abundant across Ecuador’s central Andes Mountains, like many other harlequin frogs, had diminished and vanished as habitat degradation, climate change, and the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus intensified in the region. Fortunately, since 2018, a priest had been showing pictures of several so-called lost species to community members in case anyone chanced across them. And when in 2021, someone in the small town of Simiátug recognized a male frog in a pasture as one the priest had shown, the priest alerted the Jambatu Center’s director Luis A. Coloma. Finding this single male shone a beacon of hope for the species, Terán-Valdez said. But as efforts to find a female bore little fruit, A. guanujo’s future began to look more complicated. When they first looked in the area where the malle was discovered, “we couldn’t find anything else,” Terán-Valdez said. Technician Patricio Vargas, an expert in harlequin frog reproduction at the Jambatu Center, shows a number of lab-born individuals of the rediscovered species&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/a-tale-of-two-frogs-the-tough-uphill-battle-for-rediscovered-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282826</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>We&#8217;re losing species faster than we can find them, study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/were-losing-species-faster-than-we-can-find-them-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/were-losing-species-faster-than-we-can-find-them-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2024 19:47:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/29185128/Homepage-Banner-20221116_063335-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279240</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Herps, Mammals, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Reptiles, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, Tropics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“We did it!” Doka Nason shouted as he stared at the screen of a camera trap in Papua New Guinea. He and his team had just captured a long-sought image: that of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis). Believed to be extinct, this rare ground-dwelling bird was photographed as part of the Search for Lost [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“We did it!” Doka Nason shouted as he stared at the screen of a camera trap in Papua New Guinea. He and his team had just captured a long-sought image: that of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis). Believed to be extinct, this rare ground-dwelling bird was photographed as part of the Search for Lost Species program. Scientists hadn’t seen one in the wild for 140 years. Lost species are those that haven’t been observed by scientists in their natural habitat for at least a decade. Yet most have been missing for around 50 years on average, according to a new study in the journal Global Change Biology. Researchers compiled a database of 856 lost and 424 rediscovered amphibian, bird, mammal and reptile species (known collectively as tetrapods) listed since 1800. As the number of lost species globally continues to rise, they’re being lost faster than they’re being found. “The number of lost tetrapod species is increasing decade on decade,” said Thomas Evans, a conservation scientist at the Free University of Berlin and lead author of the paper. &#8220;This means that despite many searches, we are losing tetrapod species at a faster rate than we are rediscovering them.” The results highlight differences in which lost species are more likely to be found again based on location and type of animal. Sometimes, their natural traits like nocturnality or living underground make them difficult to find. Larger animals and those that can live in multiple habitats are more likely to be found again.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/were-losing-species-faster-than-we-can-find-them-study-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/were-losing-species-faster-than-we-can-find-them-study-shows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279240</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cambodia sea turtle nests spark hope amid coastal development &#038; species decline</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/cambodia-sea-turtle-nests-spark-hope-amid-coastal-development-species-decline/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/cambodia-sea-turtle-nests-spark-hope-amid-coastal-development-species-decline/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Feb 2024 02:47:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/12/01184939/hawksbill-Gary-Rinaldi-Flickr-670x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=278406</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Coastal Ecosystems, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Crime, Development, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, Islands, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, Overexploitation, Overfishing, Pollution, Rediscovered Species, Sea Turtles, Seagrass, Sustainable Development, Tourism, Turtles, Water Pollution, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — In late December 2023, on a remote island in Preah Sihanouk province, off the southwest coast of Cambodia, a team of conservationists uncovered nine nests belonging to sea turtles after more than a decade of searching for them. Cambodia’s marine turtle population has long been declining, but this discovery has sparked hope [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — In late December 2023, on a remote island in Preah Sihanouk province, off the southwest coast of Cambodia, a team of conservationists uncovered nine nests belonging to sea turtles after more than a decade of searching for them. Cambodia’s marine turtle population has long been declining, but this discovery has sparked hope among conservationists that the critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) have not vanished from Cambodia’s waters. Nine nests were discovered by volunteers from the Royal Cambodian Navy who are stationed on the island and have been trained by Fauna &amp; Flora to monitor for the presence of sea turtles after a nest was discovered in March 2022. That initial finding of a single nest represented the first time that a sea turtle nest had been seen in Cambodia for a decade, highlighting the species’ decline. During the final days of 2023, naval personnel uncovered the nine nests, two of which had already hatched, and were able to estimate that the nests could hold as many as 1,000 eggs. It is believed that all of the nests should have hatched before the end of January 2024. Hatched eggs were excavated by naval volunteers to assess the success rate. Image supplied by Fauna &amp; Flora. Matt Glue, a marine technical specialist working with Fauna &amp; Flora in Cambodia, was able to confirm that some of the newly discovered nests were laid by a green turtle due to a female being spotted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/cambodia-sea-turtle-nests-spark-hope-amid-coastal-development-species-decline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/cambodia-sea-turtle-nests-spark-hope-amid-coastal-development-species-decline/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-278406</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Track-a-mole: Sniffer dog and eDNA help ‘rediscover’ South African golden mole</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/track-a-mole-sniffer-dog-and-edna-help-rediscover-south-african-golden-mole/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/track-a-mole-sniffer-dog-and-edna-help-rediscover-south-african-golden-mole/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Nov 2023 19:26:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/29192041/Mole-Banner-full-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276067</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Environment, Green, Mammals, Rediscovered Species, Research, Science, Species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have uncovered gold in the dunes of South Africa&#8217;s northwest coast: the De Winton&#8217;s golden mole, a species not seen by scientists since 1936. Like moles in general, De Winton&#8217;s golden mole (Cryptochloris wintoni) is blind and lives largely underground, navigating through the sand using sound and vibration. This lifestyle makes it particularly hard [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have uncovered gold in the dunes of South Africa&#8217;s northwest coast: the De Winton&#8217;s golden mole, a species not seen by scientists since 1936. Like moles in general, De Winton&#8217;s golden mole (Cryptochloris wintoni) is blind and lives largely underground, navigating through the sand using sound and vibration. This lifestyle makes it particularly hard for humans to find. However, researchers from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), a South African nonprofit, and the University of Pretoria used a sniffer dog and a technique called environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to detect the presence of this small, elusive mammal. https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/29190846/moleburrow.mp4 De Winton&#8217;s golden moles live beneath the sand in South Africa and have sensitive hearing that can detect vibrations from movement above the surface. Photo and video courtesy of JP Le Roux. The researchers trained a border collie named Jessie to identify the scent of common golden mole species. When the team arrived at the remote Port Nolloth survey site, heavy rains had revealed numerous fresh golden mole burrows and tracks. However, when unleashed to search the area, Jessie showed no signs that she recognized the scents of any moles there. Her lack of familiarity suggested to the researchers that De Winton&#8217;s species may have made these tracks. Researchers Samantha Mynhardt (left) and Esther Matthew (right) with Jessie, a scent-detection border collie. Photo by Nicky Souness. Evidence of moles burrowing below the wet sand. Photo courtesy of Nicky Souness. The team collected more than 100 sand samples for environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/track-a-mole-sniffer-dog-and-edna-help-rediscover-south-african-golden-mole/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/track-a-mole-sniffer-dog-and-edna-help-rediscover-south-african-golden-mole/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/29190846/moleburrow.mp4" length="2145181" type="video/mp4" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276067</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Collaboration key to rediscovery of egg-laying mammal in Papua’s Cyclops Mountains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/attenborough-echidna-cyclops-mountains-papua-indonesia-collaboration-indigenous-species-rediscovery/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/attenborough-echidna-cyclops-mountains-papua-indonesia-collaboration-indigenous-species-rediscovery/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Nov 2023 14:43:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/28101943/RCNX0054M1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275957</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian Forests]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Pacific Ocean, Papua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Indigenous Peoples, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Science, Species, Species Discovery, Tropical Conservation Science, Tropical Deforestation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Researchers have credited a strong spirit of collaboration for the success of an expedition in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains that uncovered new sightings of a rare egg-laying mammal and multiple unidentified species. The highlight of the recently published findings was camera-trap images of Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), which, like the distantly related but [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Researchers have credited a strong spirit of collaboration for the success of an expedition in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains that uncovered new sightings of a rare egg-laying mammal and multiple unidentified species. The highlight of the recently published findings was camera-trap images of Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), which, like the distantly related but better-known platypus, is one of just a handful of egg-laying mammals in existence. The species hadn’t been sighted by scientists since an initial specimen collected in 1961, and for decades was thought to have gone extinct. Much of the success of the four-week-long Expedition Cyclops has been attributed to the collaboration between international and local researchers, conservation authorities, NGOs, and the Indigenous groups who have persistently protected the region’s biodiversity against external threats. “We built a strong relationship with the community of Yongsu Sapari, who own part of the northern Cyclops, over three years,” James Kempton, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford who first proposed the expedition in 2019, told Mongabay in an email. “I think the trust between the expedition team and the community was important in the success of the expedition, and a lack of trust may have contributed to former searches being less successful,” he said. The Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia’s Papua region towering over the beach by Yongsu Spari, shrouded in morning mist. Image courtesy of Expedition Cyclops. From left, expedition leader James Kempton with Cenderawasih University student Gison Morib and Sili Yalak from the Indonesian NGO Yayasan Pelayanan&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/attenborough-echidna-cyclops-mountains-papua-indonesia-collaboration-indigenous-species-rediscovery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/attenborough-echidna-cyclops-mountains-papua-indonesia-collaboration-indigenous-species-rediscovery/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-275957</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Lost’ Brazilian holly tree species found again after nearly 200 years</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/lost-brazilian-holly-tree-species-found-again-after-nearly-200-years/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/lost-brazilian-holly-tree-species-found-again-after-nearly-200-years/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Sep 2023 18:43:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/09/21182358/Homepage-Banner-IlexSapiiformis_30082023_%C2%A9FredJordao_DSC_5949-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273537</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Botany, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Plants, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Species Discovery, Trees, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An expedition team has found a rare Brazilian tree that botanists thought might be extinct after nearly two centuries without a confirmed sighting. The Pernambuco holly tree (Ilex sapiiformis), which can grow to a height of 12 meters (nearly 40 feet), was found again in March in northeast Brazil by a team led by ecologist [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An expedition team has found a rare Brazilian tree that botanists thought might be extinct after nearly two centuries without a confirmed sighting. The Pernambuco holly tree (Ilex sapiiformis), which can grow to a height of 12 meters (nearly 40 feet), was found again in March in northeast Brazil by a team led by ecologist Gustavo Martinelli. They located four trees, two male and two female, in a fragment of forest next to a sugarcane plantation in the municipality of Igarassu, part of the greater metropolitan area of the city of Recife in Pernambuco state. The Pernambuco holly (Ilex Sapiiformis), found again in Brazil&#8217;s Atlantic Forest.  Image courtesy of by Fred Jordão. &#8220;The moment when we found Ilex sapiiformis, it seemed that the world had stopped turning its gears,” local researcher Juliana Alencar said in a statement. “Finding a species that hasn&#8217;t been heard of in nearly two centuries doesn&#8217;t happen every day. It was an incredible moment, and the emotion of it was felt throughout the entire team. When I looked at Professor Milton Groppo, I saw that he had tears in his eyes.” “It was like finding a long-lost and long-awaited relative that you only know by old portraits,” said Groppo, a researcher at the University of São Paulo. The Pernambuco holly was described by science in 1861, from a specimen collected in 1838. That original specimen was the only confirmed record until now. The team spent months searching herbarium records globally before an unidentified 1962 sample provided&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/lost-brazilian-holly-tree-species-found-again-after-nearly-200-years/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/lost-brazilian-holly-tree-species-found-again-after-nearly-200-years/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-273537</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Extinct’ snails return to Tahiti in largest wildlife reintroduction ever</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/extinct-snails-return-to-tahiti-in-largest-wildlife-reintroduction-ever/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/extinct-snails-return-to-tahiti-in-largest-wildlife-reintroduction-ever/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2023 14:58:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/04/28144741/Partula-snail-reintroductions-c-London-Zoo-5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268084</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[French Polynesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Charismatic Animals, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Extinction, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Invasive Species, Molluscs, Rediscovered Species, Reintroductions, and Species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Polynesian tree snail, a tiny mollusk about the size of an aspirin pill, used to be found in abundance on Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia. But about 30 years ago, the little snail was eaten out of existence by two larger snails — the giant African land snail (Lissachatina fulica) and the rosy [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Polynesian tree snail, a tiny mollusk about the size of an aspirin pill, used to be found in abundance on Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia. But about 30 years ago, the little snail was eaten out of existence by two larger snails — the giant African land snail (Lissachatina fulica) and the rosy wolf snail (Euglandina rosea) — that humans introduced to the islands. In 1994, the Polynesian tree snail (Partula nodosa) was declared extinct in the wild. Other Partula snail species have also been marked as extinct in the wild or critically endangered. However, some Partula snails lived on in captivity. In the 1990s, conservation experts from various zoos — including London and Whipsnade zoos (which are part of the ​​Zoological Society of London, or ZSL), the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, and Saint Louis Zoo in the United States — had rescued some of the last remaining individuals of several Partula species. And over the past decade, they’ve been slowly reintroducing them to the wild. In April, zookeepers organized yet another reintroduction, this one involving the transport of 5,522 extinct-in-the-wild and critically endangered Partula snails to the French Polynesian islands of Moorea and Tahiti. According to ZSL, this was the largest-ever release of extinct-in-the-wild species. In April, zookeepers transported 5,522 extinct-in-the-wild and critically endangered Partula snails to  French Polynesian islands Image by RZSS. “Despite their small size these snails are of great cultural, ecological and scientific importance — they&#8217;re the Darwin’s finches of the snail world, having&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/extinct-snails-return-to-tahiti-in-largest-wildlife-reintroduction-ever/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/extinct-snails-return-to-tahiti-in-largest-wildlife-reintroduction-ever/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-268084</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lost bird found: Dusky tetraka seen in Madagascar after 24-year absence</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lost-bird-found-dusky-tetraka-seen-in-madagascar-after-24-year-absence/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lost-bird-found-dusky-tetraka-seen-in-madagascar-after-24-year-absence/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2023 17:47:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/07110758/Dusky-Tetraka-3_JCM-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266198</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Madagascar, and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Freshwater, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Islands, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After 24 years of eluding ornithologists, a small, ground-hopping songbird known only from the tropical forests of northeastern Madagascar has been spotted by researchers once again. The dusky tetraka (Xanthomixis tenebrosa) was last seen in 1999, and the research team, led by the Peregrine Fund&#8217;s Madagascar program, started its search from the location of this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After 24 years of eluding ornithologists, a small, ground-hopping songbird known only from the tropical forests of northeastern Madagascar has been spotted by researchers once again. The dusky tetraka (Xanthomixis tenebrosa) was last seen in 1999, and the research team, led by the Peregrine Fund&#8217;s Madagascar program, started its search from the location of this last sighting. After a 40-hour drive and half-day hike up a steep mountainside, they found that much of the forest had been converted to vanilla farms, despite its protected status. They spent five more days searching at higher elevations before heading downhill. Eight days into the expedition, on Jan. 1, John C. Mittermeier, director of the Lost Birds program at the American Bird Conservancy, saw an olive and yellow-throated bird in dense undergrowth near the river. He took a photo and showed the team, who agreed it looked like a dusky tetraka. The next day, the team caught a bird to take measurements and a closer look before releasing it safely back into the wild. “Seeing the bird for the first time was truly a surprise,” said Armand Benjara, the Peregrine Fund’s Madagascar program leader. “Our entire team was extremely happy and excited.” https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/07111429/Dusky-Tetraka-2-edit.mp4 A dusky tetraka&#8217;s call. Image and audio by John C. Mittermeier. The expedition team with The Peregrine Fund&#8217;s Madagascar Program that rediscovered the dusky tetraka in two different locations. Photo by John C. Mittermeier. The team found birds in two locations: on the Masoala Peninsula and near Andapa. The birds were&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lost-bird-found-dusky-tetraka-seen-in-madagascar-after-24-year-absence/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lost-bird-found-dusky-tetraka-seen-in-madagascar-after-24-year-absence/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/07111429/Dusky-Tetraka-2-edit.mp4" length="3352602" type="video/mp4" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-266198</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Europe’s rarest fish’ numbers spawn hopes for species&#8217; survival</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/europes-rarest-fish-numbers-spawn-hopes-for-species-survival/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/europes-rarest-fish-numbers-spawn-hopes-for-species-survival/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Dec 2022 21:15:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/12/01210011/Aspretele-Romanichthys-valsanicola-identificat-la-Bradulet_foto-Alex-Gavan-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=263177</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Critically Endangered Species, Dams, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Fish, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Rediscovered Species, and Species]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The asprete, a ray-finned freshwater fish species that lives only in Romania, has long captured Mircea Marginean’s imagination. He remembers hearing about the species in 2011, when he was a university student. “I remember [my professor] saying that this is one of the most endangered freshwater fish species in Europe and probably in the world, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The asprete, a ray-finned freshwater fish species that lives only in Romania, has long captured Mircea Marginean’s imagination. He remembers hearing about the species in 2011, when he was a university student. “I remember [my professor] saying that this is one of the most endangered freshwater fish species in Europe and probably in the world, and we don&#8217;t know exactly how many there are,” Marginean, who is now a biologist for the conservation organization Fauna &amp; Flora International, tells Mongabay. “He was saying [there were] about 8 to 15, and I remember thinking I would be so happy to get the chance to work on fish species conservation.” In October, Marginean got to go on a survey expedition to search for the elusive species. He and colleagues surveyed 41 sites in three rivers but found the species only in the Vâlsan River. Across a 15-kilometer (9.3-mile) stretch of the river, they identified 58 individuals. “The best thing is that we still found it, and we managed to find more than we expected,” Marginean says. “I didn&#8217;t expect to find 58 individuals — I would have been so happy to have found 20.” On a recent survey expedition, scientists identified 58 asprete fish in the Vâlsan River in Romania. Image by Alex Găvan. First discovered in 1956, the asprete (Romanichthys valsanicola) occupies a genus of its own and has no close relatives. Some experts also believe the asprete has lived on Earth for up to 65 million years, earning the fish&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/europes-rarest-fish-numbers-spawn-hopes-for-species-survival/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/europes-rarest-fish-numbers-spawn-hopes-for-species-survival/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-263177</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In PNG, researchers find a large pigeon lost to science for 140 years</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-png-researchers-find-a-large-pigeon-lost-to-science-for-140-years/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-png-researchers-find-a-large-pigeon-lost-to-science-for-140-years/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Nov 2022 17:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/20214515/IMG_0027-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262790</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Papua New Guinea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After 140 years, a pigeon subspecies lost to science has been found again on Fergusson Island off eastern Papua New Guinea. Using a remote camera trap, researchers photographed the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis), a large, ground-dwelling bird, for the first time since it was described in 1883. “After a month of searching, seeing those [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After 140 years, a pigeon subspecies lost to science has been found again on Fergusson Island off eastern Papua New Guinea. Using a remote camera trap, researchers photographed the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis), a large, ground-dwelling bird, for the first time since it was described in 1883. “After a month of searching, seeing those first photos of the pheasant-pigeon felt like finding a unicorn,” said John C. Mittermeier, director of the lost birds program at the American Bird Conservancy and co-leader of the expedition. “It is the kind of moment you dream about your entire life as a conservationist and bird-watcher.” https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/20214804/pigeonvid-1.mp4 &nbsp; A black-naped pheasant-pigeon caught on camera. Video: Jason Gregg / American Bird Conservancy In September 2022, the expedition team, which included local Papua New Guineans working with Papua New Guinea National Museum, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the American Bird Conservancy, spent a month interviewing locals and finding promising locations to install their hidden camera traps. Fergusson Island’s steep, mountainous terrain and dense forests added to the challenge. “It wasn’t until we reached villages on the western slope of Mt. Kilkerran that we started meeting hunters who had seen and heard the pheasant-pigeon,” Jason Gregg, conservation biologist and a co-leader of the expedition team, said in a statement. “We became more confident about the local name of the bird, which is ‘Auwo,’ and felt like we were getting closer to the core habitat of where the black-naped pheasant-pigeon lives.” A local hunter, Augustin Gregory, told the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-png-researchers-find-a-large-pigeon-lost-to-science-for-140-years/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-png-researchers-find-a-large-pigeon-lost-to-science-for-140-years/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/20214804/pigeonvid-1.mp4" length="3202640" type="video/mp4" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-262790</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>An emerald-green hummingbird lost to science reemerges in Colombia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-emerald-green-hummingbird-lost-to-science-reemerges-in-colombia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-emerald-green-hummingbird-lost-to-science-reemerges-in-colombia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Aug 2022 20:36:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/16195237/Web-Size-Campylopterus_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259294</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the mountains of Colombia, an experienced bird-watcher saw an iridescent flash of blue and green. “A hummingbird caught my attention. I got out my binoculars and was shocked to see that it was a Santa Marta sabrewing,” Yurgen Vega said. &#8220;This sighting was a complete surprise, but a very welcome one.” This was only [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the mountains of Colombia, an experienced bird-watcher saw an iridescent flash of blue and green. “A hummingbird caught my attention. I got out my binoculars and was shocked to see that it was a Santa Marta sabrewing,” Yurgen Vega said. &#8220;This sighting was a complete surprise, but a very welcome one.” This was only the second time the critically endangered hummingbird has had a documented sighting since 1946. The last bird was spotted in 2010. &#8220;It’s like seeing a phantom,” said John C. Mittermeier, director of threatened species outreach at the American Bird Conservancy. A single male Santa Marta sawbrewing was spotted and photographed for the first time in ten years. Photo by Yurgen Vega/SELVA/ProCAT via Re:wild. Vega who found the bird while working with the conservation organizations Selva, ProCAT Colombia and the World Parrot Trust to survey endemic birds in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, spotted the male Santa Marta sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus) and identified it on sight by its green feathers, iridescent blue throat and black curved bill. “When I first saw the hummingbird I immediately thought of the Santa Marta sabrewing. I couldn’t believe it was waiting there for me to take out my camera and start shooting,” Vega told The Guardian. “I was almost convinced it was the species, but because I felt so overcome by emotion, I preferred to be cautious; it could’ve been the Lazuline sabrewing [Campylopterus falcatus], which is often confused with Santa Marta sabrewing. But once we saw the pictures, we knew it was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-emerald-green-hummingbird-lost-to-science-reemerges-in-colombia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-emerald-green-hummingbird-lost-to-science-reemerges-in-colombia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-259294</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Comical’ bat not seen in 40 years is found again in a Rwandan park</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/comical-bat-not-seen-in-40-years-is-found-again-in-a-rwandan-park/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/comical-bat-not-seen-in-40-years-is-found-again-in-a-rwandan-park/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Mar 2022 16:15:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/03/08070549/Screen-Shot-2022-03-07-at-11.05.24-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=253490</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Rwanda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“When we caught it, we all just looked at it and said, ‘You look ridiculous. Look how big your nose leaf is,’” Jon Flanders, director of endangered species interventions at Bat Conservation International, told Mongabay. The odd-looking creature in their net was a Hill&#8217;s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli)—the first seen since 1981. “We feared the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“When we caught it, we all just looked at it and said, ‘You look ridiculous. Look how big your nose leaf is,’” Jon Flanders, director of endangered species interventions at Bat Conservation International, told Mongabay. The odd-looking creature in their net was a Hill&#8217;s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli)—the first seen since 1981. “We feared the species may have already gone extinct,” Flanders said. “To think that we&#8217;ve been the first people to actually see this bat in almost 40 years … It was just remarkable.” The Hill’s horseshoe bat, not seen in 40 years, was found again in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park. Photo by  Jon Flanders, Bat Conservation International. Flanders was part of a 10-day, 10-night expedition searching for the elusive bat in the old-growth cloud forests of Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park. The fieldwork was brutal, he said, almost continuous rain pummeling down as they hiked through the steep terrain on little sleep. But their work paid off one night around 4 a.m. when they pulled the odd-looking bat from their net. “We knew immediately that the bat we had captured was unusual and remarkable,” Winifred Frick, chief scientist of Bat Conservation International and a member of the expedition, said in a press release. “The facial features were exaggerated to the point of comical.” As soon as they caught the fluffy, wrinkle-faced mammal, Flanders said, the group went nearly silent and began poring over textbooks to be sure of their find. On their quest for the lost bat, the researchers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/comical-bat-not-seen-in-40-years-is-found-again-in-a-rwandan-park/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/comical-bat-not-seen-in-40-years-is-found-again-in-a-rwandan-park/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-253490</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Holy loach! Fish missing for decades rediscovered in Turkey’s Batman River</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/holy-loach-fish-missing-for-decades-rediscovered-in-turkeys-batman-river/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/holy-loach-fish-missing-for-decades-rediscovered-in-turkeys-batman-river/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Dec 2021 14:20:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/21131954/Cu%CC%88neyt-Kaya-and-Mu%CC%88nevver-Oral-c-Rewild-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=250935</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Turkey]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Dams, Environment, Fish, Freshwater Fish, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Rediscovered Species, Species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For about a decade, ichthyologist Cüneyt Kaya had made it a quest to search for the critically endangered Batman River loach (Paraschistura chrysicristinae), a tiny, orange-and-brown-striped freshwater fish once found in the Batman and Ambar rivers in Turkey. But no one had spotted the fish since 1974, leading to speculation that the species had gone [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For about a decade, ichthyologist Cüneyt Kaya had made it a quest to search for the critically endangered Batman River loach (Paraschistura chrysicristinae), a tiny, orange-and-brown-striped freshwater fish once found in the Batman and Ambar rivers in Turkey. But no one had spotted the fish since 1974, leading to speculation that the species had gone extinct. But on Oct. 16, Kaya and his colleague, Münevver Oral, caught an unfamiliar fish in their net while on a research trip to look for another species in the upper Batman River in eastern Turkey. “We came out of the water and I remember he [Kaya] was very excited,” Oral, a geneticist and research fellow at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, told Mongabay in a joint interview with Kaya. “He opened his laptop and when he saw the original drawing [of the species], he was sure this species was Paraschistura chrysicristinae.” The Batman River loach (Paraschistura chrysicristinae) is a tiny, orange-and-brown-striped freshwater fish that is considered to be critically endangered. Image courtesy of Re:wild. “It was a great feeling,” said Kaya, an associate professor at the same university, “because this fish was in the 10 most wanted fish species in the world.” Very little known about the Batman River loach. Shortly after the first specimens were collected in the 1970s, the species seemed to disappear, leaving a gaping hole in the scientific understanding of the species. In 2021, wildlife NGOs Shoal and Re:wild listed the Batman River loach as one of the 10 most wanted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/holy-loach-fish-missing-for-decades-rediscovered-in-turkeys-batman-river/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/holy-loach-fish-missing-for-decades-rediscovered-in-turkeys-batman-river/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-250935</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The last spotted ground thrush on Malawi&#8217;s lonely mountain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/the-last-spotted-ground-thrush-on-malawis-lonely-mountain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/the-last-spotted-ground-thrush-on-malawis-lonely-mountain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Nov 2021 17:05:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/11/12183233/SGT1_Mathias_Dhaen-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=249420</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Malawi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Green, Illegal Logging, Logging, Parks, Poaching, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Mount Mulanje’s bare granite face looms above the lush surrounding landscape. Said to be the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lonely Mountain (home to Smaug the dragon), Malawi’s highest mountain also holds a treasure: a mating pair of spotted ground thrushes, one of the rarest birds in the world. “Ground thrushes are like the holy grail [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Mount Mulanje’s bare granite face looms above the lush surrounding landscape. Said to be the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lonely Mountain (home to Smaug the dragon), Malawi’s highest mountain also holds a treasure: a mating pair of spotted ground thrushes, one of the rarest birds in the world. “Ground thrushes are like the holy grail for birders,” Mathias D’haen, operations manager for African Parks, told Mongabay. The subspecies of spotted ground thrush found on Mt. Mulanje, Geokichla guttata belcheri, may be among the holiest. In 1989, scientists assumed that only 40 pairs were left. The last of its kind was spotted in 2005. “Belcheri has only been found in four locations in Malawi, and three of these have been nearly completely deforested,” Ruben Foquet, a project leader for Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation (BINCO), told Mongabay. A team of researchers decided to visit this fourth location, on Mt. Mulanje, the biggest of the remaining forest patches and with the highest chance of harboring a viable population. However, because the species had not been observed for 15 years, D’haen said, they faced the grim possibility of documenting a species extinction. Ground thrushes, as their name implies, spend a lot of time on the ground, hopping around and looking for small insects to eat. So it was there on the ground in the densely vegetated, steep, and humid Afromontane forest patch on the mountain, that the team focused their search efforts. The expedition was led by D’haen and Foquet as well as Tiwonge Gawa&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/the-last-spotted-ground-thrush-on-malawis-lonely-mountain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-249420</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rare pygmy chameleon, lost to science, found in dwindling Malawi forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/rare-pygmy-chameleon-lost-to-science-found-in-dwindling-malawi-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/rare-pygmy-chameleon-lost-to-science-found-in-dwindling-malawi-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Aug 2021 14:17:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/08/03132423/Photo-2-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=245474</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Malawi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Reptiles, Research, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One of the world’s smallest and rarest chameleon species has been rediscovered in Malawi, living on the edge of extinction in just a few, scant patches of rainforest. “They are little, gentle creatures,” Krystal Tolley, a professor from the South African National Biodiversity Institute and the University of the Witwatersrand and member of the expedition, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One of the world’s smallest and rarest chameleon species has been rediscovered in Malawi, living on the edge of extinction in just a few, scant patches of rainforest. “They are little, gentle creatures,” Krystal Tolley, a professor from the South African National Biodiversity Institute and the University of the Witwatersrand and member of the expedition, said in a press release. “Other chameleon species can be hysterical, hissing and biting, but pygmy chameleons are gentle and just beautiful.” The tiny Chapman’s pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon chapmanorum) grows to about 5.5 centimeters (2.2 inches), no longer than a golf tee. The species was first described in 1992 and was not seen again by scientists until 2016, when researchers from the South African National Biodiversity Institute and the Museums of Malawi searched for the cryptic chameleons in their rainforest habitat. Their findings have now been published in the journal Oryx. The Chapman’s pygmy chameleon is one of the world’s rarest chameleons. Few remain in small patches of forest in Malawi. Image by Krystal Tolley. An estimated 80% of the rainforests of Malawi Hills, in southern Malawi where the chameleons live, have been destroyed over the past 40 years, mostly for agriculture.  An area roughly the size of 100 football fields is all that remains. Under the threat of an ever-vanishing habitat, researchers feared that the chameleon may already be extinct, so they turned to crowdfunding to raise the money needed to survey the area for any surviving chameleons. Chameleon supporters rallied for the cause&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/rare-pygmy-chameleon-lost-to-science-found-in-dwindling-malawi-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/rare-pygmy-chameleon-lost-to-science-found-in-dwindling-malawi-forest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-245474</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Sierra Leone, two colorful land crabs rediscovered, two new species found</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/in-sierra-leone-two-colorful-land-crabs-rediscovered-two-new-species-found/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/in-sierra-leone-two-colorful-land-crabs-rediscovered-two-new-species-found/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2021 16:28:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/07/30034945/CRAB_Afrithelphusa-afzelii-from-Sierra-Leone-2021-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=245354</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Sierra Leone, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On a recent expedition to the remote forests of Sierra Leone, West Africa, researchers found two species of crabs new to science and rediscovered two species not seen in more than half a century. For 23 days, Pierre A. Mvogo Ndongo, a researcher from the University of Douala in Cameroon, trekked through remote rainforests in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On a recent expedition to the remote forests of Sierra Leone, West Africa, researchers found two species of crabs new to science and rediscovered two species not seen in more than half a century. For 23 days, Pierre A. Mvogo Ndongo, a researcher from the University of Douala in Cameroon, trekked through remote rainforests in search of the Sierra Leone crab (Afrithelphusa leonensis), a unique purple-clawed land crab that has not been spotted by scientists since 1955. “It was not easy,” Mvogo Ndongo said in a press release. “This trip was very, very difficult. You have to be psychologically strong. But I was very determined.” On his journey, Mvogo Ndongo asked locals if they had seen crabs that live on land, far from permanent water sources. Two men in Moyamba district described colorful crabs living nearby and led him to a farm bordering the forest. Within three days, Mvogo Ndongo and his team found an Afzelius&#8217;s crab (Afrithelphusa afzelii), which has had no recorded sighting for 225 years (since 1796). Over the next few days, the researchers found many of the orange-legged, purple-bodied crabs in that area, indicating the presence of a healthy local population. In early 2021 the Afzelius&#8217;s crab (Afrithelphusa afzelii) was spotted by scientists for the first time since 1796. Photo by Pierre A. Mvogo Ndongo courtesy of re:wild. The team then traveled to Sugar Loaf Mountain in Western Area National Park in search of their target species, the Sierra Leone crab. The spread of COVID-19 and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/in-sierra-leone-two-colorful-land-crabs-rediscovered-two-new-species-found/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/07/in-sierra-leone-two-colorful-land-crabs-rediscovered-two-new-species-found/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-245354</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Giant otter thought to be extinct in Argentina resurfaces. Literally</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/giant-otter-thought-to-be-extinct-in-argentina-resurfaces-literally/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/giant-otter-thought-to-be-extinct-in-argentina-resurfaces-literally/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2021 19:31:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/26192608/Junta-Alondra-y-Coco-213-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=243045</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Baby Animals, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Endangered Species, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Rediscovered Species, Rewilding, Species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ten days ago, Sebastian di Martino was kayaking along the Bermejo River in Argentina’s Impenetrable National Park when he heard a splash. He looked around and saw a brown-furred animal swimming through the water, occasionally dipping below the surface and then reappearing. It was a giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), a species believed to be [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ten days ago, Sebastian di Martino was kayaking along the Bermejo River in Argentina’s Impenetrable National Park when he heard a splash. He looked around and saw a brown-furred animal swimming through the water, occasionally dipping below the surface and then reappearing. It was a giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), a species believed to be extinct in Argentina. “I was surprised and excited,” Di Martino, director of conservation at Fundación Rewilding Argentina, told Mongabay in an interview. “At the beginning, I couldn&#8217;t believe what I was seeing.” Di Martino took out his phone and started filming. “Otherwise it&#8217;s kind of complicated that someone believes that you saw a giant otter,” he said. From the time of European colonization, giant otters began to slowly disappear from Argentina, mainly due to hunting pressure. The last giant otters in the country were spotted in a river in the Misiones Province in the 1980s — but there have been no known sightings since. At the moment, it’s not clear where this particular otter came from. The nearest known giant otter populations are in the Paraguayan Pantanal, hundreds of miles away. Di Martino says it’s possible that the otter broke away from its family group and swam here. But it’s also possible that otters have remained in Argentina unbeknown to conservationists. The giant otter spotted in Argentina&#8217;s Bermejo River. Image courtesy of Rewilding Argentina. Impenetrable National Park was established in 2014 with the help of Rewilding Argentina and Tompkins Conservation as part of a grand&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/giant-otter-thought-to-be-extinct-in-argentina-resurfaces-literally/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/giant-otter-thought-to-be-extinct-in-argentina-resurfaces-literally/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-243045</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>An owl not seen in over a century makes a brief return — then vanishes again</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/an-owl-not-seen-in-over-a-century-makes-a-brief-return-then-vanishes-again/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/an-owl-not-seen-in-over-a-century-makes-a-brief-return-then-vanishes-again/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2021 22:53:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Romi Castagnino]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Romi Castagnino]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/13000233/bornean-rajah-scops-ow_banner-768x456.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=242594</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Borneo, Malaysia, Sabah, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Monitoring, Montane Forests, Owls, Protected Areas, Rediscovered Species, Research, Surveying, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Bornean subspecies of the Rajah scops-owl (Otus brookii) was first described from the montane forests of the Malaysian state of Sabah in 1892. Since then, however, its whereabouts have been a mystery. It was not until 2016 that a group of researchers documented the first sighting of a live individual in more than a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Bornean subspecies of the Rajah scops-owl (Otus brookii) was first described from the montane forests of the Malaysian state of Sabah in 1892. Since then, however, its whereabouts have been a mystery. It was not until 2016 that a group of researchers documented the first sighting of a live individual in more than a century, and due to its rarity, scientists believe it could be its own species. The findings were reported April 28 in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. That May 4, 2016, rediscovery of the Bornean Rajah scops-owl (O. b. brookii) was part of a 10-year study of avian life-history evolution on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo. The project, led by Thomas E. Martin, a wildlife biologist with the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Montana, required intensively searching for nests and gathering ecological information about birds. After seven years of working up to 10 hours per day, six days a week, the team accidentally came across O. b. brookii. The rediscovery of O. b. brookii took place in the montane forests of Mount Kinabalu at an elevation of 1,650 meters (5,400 feet). Image by Oscark via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Andy Boyce, an avian ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s (SCBI) Conservation Ecology Center, happened to be working at a lab in Kinabalu National Park when he was notified by technician Keegan Tranquillo about the sighting of a bird that differed in appearance from the more common mountain scops-owl (O. spilocephalus luciae).&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/an-owl-not-seen-in-over-a-century-makes-a-brief-return-then-vanishes-again/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/an-owl-not-seen-in-over-a-century-makes-a-brief-return-then-vanishes-again/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-242594</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>One-hit wonder frog makes a comeback in the southern Philippines</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/one-hit-wonder-frog-makes-a-comeback-in-the-southern-philippines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/one-hit-wonder-frog-makes-a-comeback-in-the-southern-philippines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Mar 2021 09:17:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Leilani Chavez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Leilani]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/02/24071031/P_guttmani3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=239878</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Frogs, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Logging, Protected Areas, Rediscovered Species, Species, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 1993, a lone stream frog was discovered once but never found again in the wild. Herpetologists thought the frog species went extinct before it could be studied. Then, last year, more than a quarter of a century since the frog was seen, two Filipino biologists rediscovered it in one of the least surveyed forest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 1993, a lone stream frog was discovered once but never found again in the wild. Herpetologists thought the frog species went extinct before it could be studied. Then, last year, more than a quarter of a century since the frog was seen, two Filipino biologists rediscovered it in one of the least surveyed forest reserves in the southern island of Mindanao. The rediscovery tale of Pulchrana guttmani, the species first described from Mount Busa on the border of Sarangani and South Cotabato provinces, is an intriguing one. Despite being big enough to cover half a grown man’s palm and with a striking golden-brown body contrasted by a grayish-blue underbelly, the frog species has eluded herpetologists and confused Indigenous guides who tried, yet failed, to spot the species in the thicket of the Mindanao wilds. In a paper published in Herpetological Notes, Kier Pitogo and Aljohn Saavedra reported the rediscovery of what they say may be the rarest amphibian in the Philippines, and possibly, the world. “Despite its brightly colored body and large size, it has eluded biologists for decades!” Pitogo tells Mongabay. “What makes it special is the fact that it is the only Philippine frog for which no known sightings of living individuals have been documented since its original discovery. So, you can consider it as one of the rarest amphibians, if not the rarest, in the Philippines.” The elusive Pulchrana guttmani, a frog species in the southern Mindanao region, Philippines. Image courtesy of Kier Pitogo P. guttmani was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/one-hit-wonder-frog-makes-a-comeback-in-the-southern-philippines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/one-hit-wonder-frog-makes-a-comeback-in-the-southern-philippines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-239878</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mystery bird not seen in 172 years makes surprise reappearance in Borneo forest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/mystery-bird-not-seen-in-172-years-makes-surprise-reappearace-in-borneo-forest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/mystery-bird-not-seen-in-172-years-makes-surprise-reappearace-in-borneo-forest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Feb 2021 16:59:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/02/25165601/kalbar_1006-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=239959</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Cryptic Species, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Rediscovered Species, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Three years ago, Panji Gusti Akbar was flipping through the pages of Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago when he came across a photo of a bird with brown wings and a black stripe across its brow, appropriately named the black-browed babbler (Malacocincla perspicillata). On the map beside the bird, there was a question mark, indicating [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Three years ago, Panji Gusti Akbar was flipping through the pages of Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago when he came across a photo of a bird with brown wings and a black stripe across its brow, appropriately named the black-browed babbler (Malacocincla perspicillata). On the map beside the bird, there was a question mark, indicating that no one knew where the species lived. In fact, this bird hadn’t been sighted for the past 172 years. “I just had some sort of feeling that, ‘it must be nice to be the one who finds it,’ but just forgot about it,” Akbar, an ornithologist who works at the tourism company Birdpacker Indonesia, told Mongabay. The rediscovered black-browed babbler. Image by Muhammad Suranto and Muhammad Rizky Fauzan. Then, in October 2020, Akbar received a message from a colleague on WhatsApp with a picture of a living bird with brown wings, a gray breast and a distinctive black stripe on its brow. Two men had accidentally caught it in South Kalimantan province, in Indonesian Borneo, and had taken photos of it before releasing it unharmed. Akbar flipped through his entire field guide, but only found one bird that matched the picture on his phone: the black-browed babbler. But at first, he had trouble believing what he was seeing. “I contacted as many leading ornithologists as possible, and they all agreed that there is no other bird that [it] looks [like] other than a black-browed babbler,” Akbar said. “It just blew my mind.” There is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/mystery-bird-not-seen-in-172-years-makes-surprise-reappearace-in-borneo-forest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-239959</doi>				</item>
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