species

Wow! The elephant shrew was considered a lost species up until recently! It hasn't been seen in 50 years, last scientific recording being back in the 1970s.

A country in the Horn of Africa, Djibouti, the creature was found during a scientific expedition. Found alive and well, we should add. 

The elephant shrew is so tiny, it can fit in the palm of your hand.  They are neither elephants nor shrews but do have a distinctive trunk-like nose. The elephant shrew actually is related to aardvarks, elephants, and manatees, believe it or not. 

Steven Heritage, a research scientist at the Duke University Lemur Center in Durham, and a member of the expedition that re-discovered the elephant shrew said he was thrilled to put the once lost species back on the radar! 

Heritage told BBC, "We were really excited and elated when we opened the first trap that had an elephant shrew in it, a Somali sengi. We did not know which species occurred in Djibouti and when we saw the diagnostic feature of a little tufted tail, we looked at each other and we knew that it was something special."

Story via BBC

Diego, a 100-year-old Galapagos Tortoise (Chelonoidis hoodensis), from the Galapagos island, is set to be released to his native island of Espanola this March, according to the Galapagos National Parks service (PNG).

Park rangers on Santa Cruz Island, California, believe Diego's contribution to the program has resulted in him being the patriarch of at least 40 percent of their 2,000 tortoise population!

Diego is a hero, he single-handedly saved his species by fathering 800 offsprings! 

Jorge Carrion, the PNG director, said, "About 1,800 tortoises have been returned to Espanola and now with natural reproduction, we have approximately 2,000 tortoises. This shows that they are able to grow, they are able to reproduce, they are able to develop."

And just to make this even more impressive, around 50 years ago, there were only two males and 12 females of Diego's species currently living on Espanola. Plus, they were too spread out to actually reproduce. 

Story via DailyMail

There have been 71 new (animal and plant) species discovered in 2019 alone! This list includes flowers, coral, ants, lizards, spiders, sea slugs and fish. 

Found across 5 continents from within the depths of caves, forests, and the ocean. 

We have selected 14 insects and sea life creatures. 

Story via California Academy of Sciences

According to researchers from the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife (ONCFS), this cat found a few weeks ago in Corsica and known as the "ghjattu-volpe" in Corsican or "cat-fox" in English, could actually be a new species of feline.  Isn't that exciting? 

Story via: New York Post/ Rfi

Chester Zoo has some adorable new residents. The three hyrax pups were born there in July and they're as cute as newborn fur babies come. 

If you've been online in the past two days, you might have noticed that the internet is erupting with memes, jokes, information, and even an interactive game, about 30-50 feral hogs. What the heck is going on, you might ask? Well, what started out as a serious question by a Twitter user amidst America's seemingly never-ending gun reform debate is nonetheless a genuine question that we must address. The famous question goes as follows: "Legit question for rural Americans - How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?". While the specificity of this question has driven many to hilarity, feral pigs in America are no laughing matter. They can wreak irreversible damage on ecosystems, endanger native plant and animal species, and can even harm or kill humans. Here's what the deal is with feral pigs in America. 

Nature is wild! Crazy to think how times a species has evolved, and it's even more insane to think how we're STILL evolving! The artist, @paleoart, behind these intricate and amazing illustrations of animal evolution can be found on Tumblr! 

Some of these couples look just amazing! Via: Cutesy Pooh

We just love this twitter page!

These cat species are crazy adorable! 

The list was published by New York University and includes a pink insect that looks like a leaf and a deep sea worm that looks like a churro. Meet them all.

Adorable cat species that you wish you would have known about! Too cute not to look.