A small lizard thought to be extinct in the wild has been spotted near Melbourne, Australia, for the first time since 1969.
For all these years, the lizard, called the Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon, seemed to become extinct because its habitats were significantly reduced and because it was eaten by other animals, and now it turns out that all these years it managed to survive in the wild.
The exciting discovery was announced on Sunday, alongside an announcement by the Australian government that the exact area where the lizard was found would not be revealed, in order to allow authorities to act to protect the rare animal and preserve its chances of survival.
Exciting: the lizard spotted in the wild
Some good news for your Sunday. This little guy is a Victorian grassland earless dragon.
One hasn't been seen in Victoria for over 50 years and was thought to be extinct in the wild - until now. pic.twitter.com/jtOyTe2JHx
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) June 25, 2023
Victoria State Zoo teams, which actively preserve endangered Australian animals, launched a major operation to find the lizard in 2017, and have since undertaken numerous searches for it. Now, zoos and various authorities in the country are preparing to take action to ensure the existence of the species in the wild.
Dr Jenny Gray, chief director of Victoria State Zoos, who led the search, expressed her excitement at finding the lizard: "This is an extraordinary event. The new discovery raises great optimism when it comes to returning the species back to the wild."
She said Melbourne Zoo has spent years conserving and assisting endangered animal populations and will now set up a special breeding programme for this species to ensure it never goes extinct in the wild again.
In parallel with the exciting exposure, the federal government and the authorities in the state of Melbourne announced that they are working to prepare a search plan for additional populations of the lizard, by specially training dogs that will be able to smell the species in the wild and identify it.
"Together with our partners, we will fight for this critically endangered species to survive – and for future generations to see it and learn about this wonderful lizard," said Ingrid Stitt, Victoria's environment minister. "This is an amazing discovery that gives us the opportunity to bring back to nature a species that was already considered lost."
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