Koukako of the South Island, last officially sighted in 1967
Tepapa (OR.010842) CC BY 4.0
On the first day of 2023, John Mittermeier was disappointed. He and his colleagues spent 10 days in Madagascar in search of a bird last seen more than 20 years ago. A long journey in search of native forest habitat has revealed vast tracts of land cleared for agriculture and vanilla production. They faced rain and leeches and Mittermeier spent much of his time ill. And in two days he will start going home.
The team has just moved to a new location, and Mittermeier wakes up hopeful, but soon finds that the environment there is also deteriorating. “I was so excited that I was like, ‘This is a disaster,’” he says. By 9:00 am he was walking back to camp. Then it happened. “Boom! There was a dim Tetraka.”
This little green bird with a yellow throat and eye rings is so special that it is on the “most wanted” list of lost bird hunts. Launched in 2021, the initiative will harness the excitement generated by elusive species to lead an army of global birdwatchers, researchers and conservationists to search for birds that have gotten in the way of science. It is an object. We also provide financial support for some searches.
dim tetraka
John C. Mittermayer
Searching for long-lost species can help conservationists decide where to focus their efforts, says Christina Biggs of conservation group Re:wild. Finding them may bring hope. “We are living in an age of apocalyptic climate fatigue,” she says. …
