Researchers manage to collect photo evidence: it is considered extinct, but the long-beaked echidna is still alive!

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Researchers in Indonesia have rediscovered an echidna that was thought extinct for decades. The Zaglossus attenboroughi only appeared on the last day of a four-week expedition and on the last memory card for the 80 camera traps, explains expedition leader James Kempton of the University of Oxford. The long-snouted echidna, named after famous British naturalist David Attenborough (97), was last seen in 1961.

Echidnas are among the only remaining mammals that do not give live birth to their offspring, but rather lay eggs. They are nocturnal and shy and therefore difficult to find. The Attenborough’s long-snouted echidna has never been seen outside the extremely remote Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia’s Papua region.

New animal species discovered

Kempton’s team finding him was also thanks to the support of local communities, who helped him navigate the remote and difficult terrain and also gave him access to sacred sites. The researchers have now been rewarded for their efforts with black and white photos of the special creature that last just a few seconds.

During their expedition, biologist Kempton and his team also discovered a number of new subterranean species, such as blind spiders, blind harvestmen and a whip scorpion. They found the animals in a previously unexplored cave system that was only uncovered when a team member fell through a moss-covered entrance. (SDA)

Source: Blick