Yangtze River dolphin one step from extinction

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-10 10:44

Scientists working on the "possibly extinct" list rummage in the undergrowth for rare plants, frogs or rats, set up nighttime traps for bats or moths, or scour the seabed for corals.

Some experts liken the difficulties to "proving" that the mythical Loch Ness Monster does not exist.

The Christmas Island shrew has not been seen on its Australian island since 1985. The Venezuelan skunk frog has not been spotted despite repeated searches.

Seventy-six mammals have become extinct since the year 1500, a much faster rate than in previous centuries, and 29 are "possibly extinct" on the 2008 Red List.

Extinct species have often unknown economic value, such as the Australian gastric brooding frog, which incubated its young in its stomach and might have pointed to ways to treat ulcers. Or South Africa's blue buck antelope, which could have boosted tourism.

While most of the news is bleak, a few "Lazarus" species give conservationists cause for celebration - last year, a lizard presumed extinct turned up on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands after no sightings in 500 years.

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