Thought to Be Extinct, Night Parrot Spotted After Not Being Seen for Over 100 Years
We've discussed scenarios where animals that we thought were extinct were spotted in the wild. This occurs because it's impossible for us to know all of the animals that exist in the wild, and as humans, if we haven't seen an animal in over 100 years, we tend to assume it's extinct.
This is exactly what happened in this case, and it mirrors many other instances, such as the case of the Saki monkey we discussed in another post. It's always an amazing discovery when we spot an animal that we once believed to be extinct, as it shows that these animals have persevered.
Although many of the animals spotted that were thought to be extinct are indeed still endangered and should be preserved to save the species, we thought we'd shine some light on the story of a night parrot that was spotted after not being seen for 100 years.
It's a truly remarkable story because we would all assume it was gone, but clearly, the species has just been living under the radar. Let's dive in and take a look at this story to see what happened and what people think.
This photo shows the rare bird we are discussing: the Night Parrot.
Birdwatchers everywhere were excited to hear that the Night Parrot species has been rediscovered after all these years. The Night Parrot is native to Australia and is known to be one of the most elusive bird species out there.
It's wild to think that people found a bird once thought to be extinct.
This bird was initially declared extinct as no one had seen it for years—until someone stumbled upon this elusive creature.
The bird was spotted and heard by four men from Broome. “We are quite experienced in these habitats, so to hear something new was quite exciting,” said a member of the group, Bruce Greatwich.
Here's a look at the four Broome men who discovered this elusive parrot.
George Swann, a member of the team that discovered the bird, explained how excited they were to see it. Here's more about what he had to say: “To have something happen that we have worked towards for a long time, and that lots of people have tried to achieve… we were clearly very, very excited.”
Now that we know this bird is out there, it's important to maintain the species.
Professionals are already looking into this species and have provided comments on the next steps.
“We know that night parrots do occur in Western Australia now. Mining companies, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Parks and Water… they will have to place much more importance on reported sightings now and in the future when making assessments around potential developments or habitat destruction in the area.”
Here's a video of the Night Parrot so you can get a better look at this bird.
Nature is amazing, isn't it? It's always incredible when we discover something that was once thought to be extinct.
It's reassuring to know the species is alive, but it also means we can take steps to maintain and grow the population so that they aren't as elusive and hard to find.
That's definitely something we need to work on.
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