Called Lazarus species, these once-thought-extinct, rediscovered species have been cropping up in the news with increasing frequency.

One item that caught my eye was the formerly extinct Galapagos tortoise, which may still exist, though in seriously reduced numbers. Its DNA, however, is found in the genetic makeup of other island turtles, so scientists speculate it may be possible to clone the species.

But the giant native turtle is not the only species recently rediscovered. Also relocated (by visual observation) are:  

1. Pygmy tarsier
2. Okapi
3. Dwarf cloud rats,                                 
4. Nelson’s small-eared shrew
5. Laotian rock rat                
6. Cuban Solenodon
7. Worcester’s buttonquail
8. Arakan forest turtle
9. Mountain pygmy possum

10.  Terror Skink          

11.  Coelecanth (“walking” fish)

12.  Woolly flying squirrel

13.  La Palma giant lizard

14.  Javan elephants

15.  Painted frog

16.  Short-necked oil beetle

17.  Singapore butterfly

18.  Siamese crocodile                                

19.  Philippine forest turtle

20.  Madagascar blind snake

21.  Ivory-billed woodpecker

22.  Madagascar serpent eagle

23.  Bavarian pine vole

24.  Caatinga woodpecker

25.  Calyptura kinglet

26.  Fernandina rice rat

27.  Rancho Grande Harlequin frog

28.  Gracilidris ant

29.  Borneo toad

30.  Bermuda petrel

31.  Caspian horse

32.  Chacoan peccary (wild pig)

33.   Gilbert's potoroo                    

34.  La Gomera giant lizard

35.  Takahe

36.  Madagascar pochard (duck)

37.  Greenback Cutthroat trout

38.  Kakapo (flightless) parrot

39.  New Zealand storm-petrel 

40.  Chatham Island taiko

41.  Campbell Island snipe

42.  Campbell Island teal

43.  Swinshoe's softshell turtle

44.  Bubble Nest frog

45.  Rio Pescado stubfoot toad                               

46.  Hula painted frog

47.  Banggai crow

48.  Cave splayfoot salamander,                  

49.  Mount Nimba red-limbed reed frog

50.  Omaniundu reed frog

51.  Kunimasu trout

As you can see, the list is extensive, running to what researchers from the University of Singapore, the University of Adelaide (Australia) and Princeton University (New Jersey, USA) think may be 351 species over the last century and a quarter. (For a truly comprehensive list, and more accurate nomenclature, visit Peter Maas’s website).

And this is not even counting extinct species of plants, mosses, lichens and the like. But the point I’m trying to make is, even though we have surely messed up our Earth and its habitability for most species (including ourselves), all is not lost.

Literally. All is not  lost, and we can move forward by cutting back our energy and resource use, watching how we dispose of our leftover medications, fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals, and otherwise controlling our “footprint.”

Admittedly, a preponderance of the discoveries are in restricted or underexplored areas, like Madagascar, but even that is a good sign. Many areas, even in highly developed countries, also remain sparsely populated and underexplored. Examples include Cairngorn in Scotland, Orford Ness in the UK, Brecon Beacons in Wales, and national parks in the U.S. (as well as undeveloped areas within Western states).

Even New Zealand has seven wilderness areas, designated by its 1980 National Parks Act. So does equally tiny Switzerland, though not numbered and defined only by difficult mountain terrain, like Bachalpsee in the Swiss Alps. For more information on wild areas like these, visit the WILD Foundation.

The important thing to realize is that we have not crossed some mythical point of no return. We can save existing species (and perhaps, inadvertently, also save some thought extinct) simply by choosing to live a less rapacious lifestyle and by deciding, even in our own backyards, to respect, cherish and maintain the wildlife that isn’t struggling to survive. In other words, feed a bird, plant a tree, create a rain garden or build a whole wildlife sanctuary. It really is up to you.