Not seen for nearly 50 years, the elephant, a declining relative of the elephant, has been spotted in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
I known as Somali bed (Elephantulus revoilii), the mammal has a long nose, large eyes and a teat of fur on its tail. It is related to elephants, aardvarks and manatees, according to a statement from the Global Wildlife Conservation, and has been “lost to science” since 1968.
“For those of us living in Djibouti, and due to the Horn of Africa expansion, we have never considered the sengis ‘lost’, but this new study brings the Somali sengi back into the scientific community, which we value. , “study co-author Houssein Rayaleh said in the statement. “For Djibouti, this is an important story that highlights the great biodiversity of the country and the region and shows that there are opportunities for new science and research here.”
The first live photo of a Somali sengi for scientific documentation. (Stephen Heritage, Duke University Lemur Center)
FIRAL PHOTO TO LIONESS SNUGGLING WITH MORE CUBS AT FAMOUS AFRICAN GAME RESERVE
The researchers found S. sengi after setting up more than 1,200 skins at 12 locations during its 2019 expedition, using an ace consisting of peanut butter, oatmeal and yeast. If luck would have it, they caught on S. sengi in the first step they set.
“It was great,” added the study’s lead author, Stephen Heritage. ‘When we opened the first staircase and saw the small tuft of hair at the tip of the tail, we just looked at each other and could not believe it. A number of small mammal studies since the 1970s did not find the Somali sengi in Djibouti – it was serendipitous that it happened to us so quickly. ”
The study was published in the scientific journal PeerJ.
Everything researchers knew about it S. sengi had come from the 39 specimens that were collected “and hundreds of years ago” and stored in museums. Well, with the 12 S. sengis that the researchers found, much can be learned about the miniature.
The researchers found the elephants in areas that are “dry and for the most part inhospitable to human activities,” according to the statement, meaning they are unlikely to be related to habitat destruction by human activity. As such, researchers at the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species have recommended that mammal status be upgraded to “least concern” of “data deficiency.”
“Usually when we rediscover lost species, we find just one or two people and we need to act quickly to try to prevent their difficult extinctions from occurring,” said Robin Moore, one of GWC’s Search for Lost Species programs. . “This is a welcome and wonderful rediscovery in a time of unrest for our planet, and one that fills us with new hope for the remaining small mammal species on our most sought after list, such as the golden mule of DeWinton, a relative of the sengi, and the cloudrunner of Ilin Island. ”
The researchers hope to launch another trek in 2022 to tag mammals radio and begin answering some basic questions about them, including how many pairs share a space and when and under what conditions they are most active.
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