Palm sized Elephant shrew rediscovered after 50 years in Djibouti, Read details

A palm-sized relative of elephants was recently sighted for the first time in 50 years by rocky outcrops and relatively sparse vegetation. Reportedly, there were tips received by scientists that the creatures could be hiding in Djibouti, East Africa. After that, a group of scientists from the US and Djibouti had set out in 2019 to look for the species even though the animals were previously found in Somalia.

According to Livescience, the mouse-sized mammal came into sight when a whiff of peanut butter lured him out from the rocky, rugged lands of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. The mammal is called a Somali sengi and is a species of elephant shrew. It was last seen in 1973 and till now, everything that was known about it was through 39 individual specimens collected decades and centuries ago, according to a statement from Global Wildlife conservation.

Photo credits: Steven Heritage, Duke University Lemur Center

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Features of Somali sengi

• The species looks like a teensy animal and is a mammal.
• It has a long nose.
• Big spectacled eyes
• A fur tuft on its tail

Photo credits: Steven Heritage, Duke University Lemur Center 

Photo credits: Steven Heritage, Duke University Lemur Center

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Houssein Rayaleh who is a co-author, a research ecologist and conservationist with the nonprofit organization, Association Djibouti Nature, had seen this creature before. Reportedly, locals of that place had seen this creature too and they identified it in photos when the scientists interviewed them. Houssein Rayaleh said in the statement:

For us living in Djibouti, and by extension the Horn of Africa, we never considered the sengis to be 'lost,' but this new research does bring the Somali sengi back into the scientific community, which we value.

As reported by Livescience, the researchers had set up 1259 traps at 12 different locations across the rocky terrain. In total, they saw 12 Somali sengis and they could easily be distinguished from a similar species because of their tuft of fur on their tails. Robin Moore who was one of the GWC’s Search for Lost Species program leads said in a statement that usually when they rediscover a lost species, they find only one or two individuals and need to act quiuckly to try to prevent their imminent extinction.

This is a welcome and wonderful rediscovery during a time of turmoil for our planet, and one that fills us with renewed hope for the remaining small mammal species on our most wanted list.

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Photo by Steven Heritage, Duke University Lemur Center