Rediscovering a species lost to science for 30 years!

Your zoo visits and donations have helped to rediscover a species that was thought to be extinct! The silver-backed chevrotain was lost to the world for close to 30 years until passionate conservationists set out on an intrepid journey to look for them.

Earlier this year, Auckland Zoo was approached by conservation scientists at Global Wildlife Conservation and the Ho Chi Minh University of Science in Vietnam to help fund their efforts to locate one of the world’s smallest ungulate species, and one that science had all but forgotten.

First described in 1910, the silver-backed chevrotain is only found in Vietnam and before this research project, next to nothing was known about their ecology, conservation status or even whether they still survived!

This is the first footage of the silver-backed chevrotain taken by conservationists in a non-invasive method called ‘camera-trapping’; these trail cameras come equipped with motion sensors and when wildlife passes in front of the camera, they get their photo taken. This rediscovery makes the silver-backed chevrotain the first mammal on the list of ‘25 most wanted lost species’ to be rediscovered and is an opportunity for the global conservation community to protect one of the least known ungulate species in the world.

Next the field team will set out to determine just how large and stable the population is, and how widely it is distributed, so they can further understand and mitigate the threats to its survival.

It’s not every day that a species is rediscovered and it’s only through working together – conservationists, scientists, and wildlife lovers (just like you!) that visit Auckland Zoo every day - that we’re able to help protect and save wildlife around the world.

[yenee]

It's so cute!! And it walks funny