10. Mountain Pygmy-possum

The pygmy possum was found in an Australian Ski Club Lodge in 1966.

This undocumented animal was thought to be extinct, as only fossil remains indicated

that it once existed. However, since being discovered in the ski lodge, scientists have

tracked the animal to three separate regions in southern Australia.

Males and females live in separate habitats, with the females living at the top of mountains

and hills.

In order to mate, the male has to trek up to the females. However, this proved difficult

when a road was built in the middle of the main habitat. To avoid the males being run

over, the Australian government built a “tunnel of love” beneath the road.

9. Clarion Night Snake

The lost night snake was rediscovered on the volcanic island Clarion, which is only accessible

with the aid of the Mexican army.

The snake is perfectly suited to blending into the lava rock habitat, as it is usually

black and brown in color.

First documented in 1936, the snake hadn’t been seen since. This resulted in some scientists

doubting that it ever even existed and the snake being removed from the record. Nearly

80 years later, in 2013, researchers used the original field notes as a guide to rediscover

the snake.

They found that Clarión island was home to 11 snakes. However, there may have been more

that went unnoticed due to their camouflaged skin.

8. New Guinea Big-eared Bat

The Papua New Guinea big-eared bat was thought to be extinct, as it was last seen in 1890.

That was until it was accidentally caught during a scientific study in 2012.

Having only been observed once before in 1890 and assumed extinct, it took two years for

the new specimen to be identified.

The critically endangered bat was identified by its disproportionate ears, but largely

the species is a mystery to science. What the bat sounds like and the environment it

lives in are still unknown.

7. Terror Skinks

Known as the T-Rex of the skink world, this lizard gained its ‘terror’ name because

of its long, sharp, curved teeth.

Only found on the Isle of Pines in New Caledonia, the terror skink was declared extinct, as

no living species had been seen since the early 1990s.

The creature was re-discovered and filmed by specialists from the French Natural History

Museum in 2003.

Dominating the smaller animals in its habitat, the terror skink uses its tongue to sniff

the air and track prey.

The animal is thought to be extremely rare, meaning it is still a mystery to science.

6. Bermuda Petrel

The official animal of Bermuda, commonly referred to as the Cahow, was thought to have been

extinct for over 300 years, until 1951.

18 pairs of this nocturnal ground-nesting sea bird were found, and a massive conservation

effort has taken place since then. It is thought that the Cahow started struggling after the

English began settling in Bermuda, as they introduced cats, rats, and dogs to the land.

These birds make an eerie cry for their mating call. This led some Spanish sailors to believe

that Bermuda was a devil’s place, so they never tried to settle.

5. Chacoan Peccary

This pig-like mammal is found in the Gran Chaco region stretching across South America.

Living in a harsh and dry habitat, it was believed to be extinct. Up until 1975 only

fossils of the animals had been discovered by the scientific community, although they

were well known to people native to the area.

The highly social animal is thought to always run around in groups of up to 10.

When frightened, the Chacoan peccary runs away, spraying a strong, musky secretion from

glands on its back. It’s believed that the smell is emitted to allow the group to stick

together as they escape, as well as mark their territory.

It is now thought that there are around 5,000 Chacoan peccaries in existence.

4. Lord Howe Island Stick Insect

Known as the Tree Lobster, this giant stick insect can grow up to 15cm in length and is

found in the Lord Howe Island group, off the coast of Australia.

The giant insect was officially declared extinct in 1960. It was thought that the introduction

of black rats to the island, after a shipwreck, nearly brought these insects to extinction.

Nonetheless there were many rumors that some had been seen on the remains of a giant volcano,

nearly 30km away from Lord Howe Island. And in 2001 an expedition was launched that found

24 stick insects in a shrub 152 meters high.

There are now over 9000, bred in Melbourne Zoo.

3. Takahē

Native to New Zealand, this flightless bird was thought to have been driven to extinction

in 1898. This was after excessive hunting and habitat destruction caused a sharp decline

in its numbers.

Although it was once found throughout New Zealand, in 1948 it was discovered that the

remaining takahē had relocated to a mountain on New Zealand’s south island.

Breeders now use glove puppets to help rear takahē chicks with minimized human contact.

Early attempts at rearing the chicks led the birds to think that the human breeders were

their parents.

2. Pygmy Tarsier

Weighing only 56 grams, this tiny mammal has been described as a cross between a Gremlin

and a Furby.

Re-discovered in 2008, researchers found the Pygmy Tarsier following an 8-year expedition,

after an Indonesian scientist accidentally killed one in a rat trap.

The tiny primate was last seen alive in the 1920s and was thought to have become extinct

due to logging destroying its habitat.

The Pygmy tarsier is known for its massive eyes that enable night vision. Some species

of Tarsier can even communicate at ultrasonic frequencies.

1. Coelacanths

Maybe the best hide and seek player ever, the Coelacanth went missing 65 million years

ago. It was re-discovered in 1938 after it was caught by a fishing boat in a South African

river and shown to museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer.

Originating from a time before the dinosaurs, the fish was only known to exist because of

its fossilized remains. This ancient fish’s lineage has been around for 360 million years

and is thought to have survived up to 15 extinction events.

Although searched for by scientists, the fish were actually familiar to Indonesian fishermen,

who occasionally caught the inedible creatures by mistake.