5 Extinct Species That Strangely Came Back to Life

Making an organism that resembles extinct species is known as de-extinction (also known as regeneration biology or species revivalism).

De-extinction can be carried out in a variety of ways. Cloning is the approach that has received the most attention, but genome editing and selective breeding have also been suggested.

Certain endangered species have been given similar therapies in the hopes of improving their populations. Cloning is the only form of the three that can result in an animal with the same genetic identity.

As many as one million animal and plant species may become extinct. The UN warns that the drastic loss in global biodiversity is a problem in and of itself and a threat to the planet's population's well-being. Furthermore, it poses a significant danger to global food stability and economic activity.

Here are a few creatures that managed to re-emerge long after declared extinct:

Coelacanth

It's impossible for scientists to determine whether a plant will become extinct. There could be no sightings for five years, ten years, or fifty years. However, at 66 million, you'd imagine it's a pretty good investment.

Until one was discovered off South Africa's coast in 1938, this creature was believed to have perished along with the dinosaurs.

Coelacanths are nocturnal deep-sea dwellers with a primitive appearance believed to inhabit underwater caves in the Indian Ocean. They are critically endangered.

Elephant Shrew

The last time anyone recorded a sighting of the Somali elephant shrew was almost 50 years ago, after which it was assumed to have become extinct. Then, in August 2020, a team of researchers and academics reported that these tiny, odd-looking creatures were alive and well. Also known as the Somali Sengi, this mouse-sized animal, with its distinctive elongated nose, is thriving across the Horn of Africa.

Pinatubo Island Mouse

Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted in 1991, causing massive devastation in its immediate vicinity. Field biologists were unable to determine the damage for some time after the volcano erupted due to the region's instability. The little island mouse, which had only been seen once before in the 1950s, was one of the animals on the verge of extinction. Since the population was so small at the time, scientists thought it would not survive such a catastrophic eruption.

They were mistaken. A team headed by the Field Museum in Chicago uncovered a swarm of mice living in the windswept, brush-covered landscape that represents the regeneration of a disaster zone ten years ago.

The vast number of species has caused biologists to conclude that the mouse is a catastrophe specialist, as the rodent's numbers grew in the aftermath of the eruption. Maybe it was the effects of the cataclysm on local predators. Happily, the mouse is still alive and way-punching well above its weight, if its flourishing population is any indicator of its success.

Takahe

Flightless birds have a rocky relationship with extinction, but there is a takahe for every dodo and moa. The multi-colored takahe is a remnant of the 'rail' tribe, a large genetic church that includes coots and crakes. It once roamed much of modern-day New Zealand.

The population was declared extinct in 1898, decimated by predation, poaching, and habitat destruction, but a robust colony was found high in the Murchison Mountains 50 years later.

The takahe focuses on New Zealand's longest-running endangered species campaign and has since expanded to seven islands and many mainland areas, making it a conservation success story.

Caspian Horse

The rediscovery of the Caspian horse is a storybook narrative that puts Black Beauty to shame. Even-tempered steeds perfect for first-time riders, the Caspian horse's rediscovery is a storybook narrative that puts Black Beauty to shame. Louise Laylin, a Virginia-born American horse breeder, moved to Iran in 1957 to marry a Persian prince and open a children's riding school in Tehran.

She set off for the rugged Caspian mountains in pursuit of the semi-mythical, thought-to-be-extinct Caspian horse after finding the local horses too skittish and boisterous. She noticed three right away and galloped back to the capital.

Caspian horses also have a global domestic distribution and stable populations in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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Tags animals, extinct, De-Extinction