Tiny Elephant Shrew Spotted Again After 50 Years

Aug 24, 2020 by apost team

The Somali sengi is an endangered animal that was thought to have gone extinct in 1970. When researchers successfully trapped a sengi in Djibouti in 2019, they breathed a huge sigh of relief; it looks like the Somali sengi isn't going extinct anytime soon.

The sengi, also known as the elephant shrew, is a tiny little creature with a long tail, big ears, and a nose that is pointed almost like an elephant's trunk. This nose, which is responsible for the animal's popular name, is used to find insects for the elephant shrew to eat. Despite their name, sengis aren't actually elephants but related to them. This species is most closely related to another insect-eater, the aardvark. Sengis are also genetically related to other mammals like elephants and manatees, according to Understanding Evolution.

According to the Duke, There are roughly 20 known types of sengis. One of the rarest species, known as the Somali sengi, was thought to be extinct since the 1970s. Everything known about Somali sengis was learned from 39 taxidermied samples that were collected in museums - that is, until now.

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The first Somali sengi seen in over 50 years was found during an expedition to Djibouti, a country located in the Horn of Africa. Steven Heritage, a researcher who was a member of the expedition, recounted his experience to the BBC:

"We were really excited and elated when we opened the first trap that had an elephant shrew in it, a Somali sengi," he said. "We did not know which species occurred in Djibouti and when we saw the diagnostic feature of a little tufted tail, we looked at each other and we knew that it was something special."

The local population of Djibouti had been reporting sightings of Somali sengis in the area for quite some time, but it wasn't until 2019 that researchers decided to confirm if the stories were true. The Somali sengi was never really lost; it just wasn't officially recognized by the Western scientific community until this most recent expedition. Houssein Rayaleh, an ecologist and conservationist from Djibouti, told the BBC that he was incredibly proud to have the animal recognized by other researchers. He said that "for Djibouti this is an important story that highlights the great biodiversity of the country and the region and shows that there are opportunities for new science and research here."

Until this recent discovery, members of the Global Wildlife Conservation charity had considered the Somali sengi to be one of the 25 most-wanted extinct species on the planet. Western scientists were incredibly worried about the sengi's disappearance from Somalia, and they were incredibly relieved to see that the animal was living and even thriving on another part of the continent.

To find more sengis, the members of the expedition set out over 1,000 traps. Each trap was baited with a mixture of peanut butter, yeast, and oatmeal. The mix must have been delicious; a sengi was immediately caught in the very first trap.

The expedition managed to meet 12 different sengis and gather video footage of the creatures living in their Djibouti habitat. The sengis were living far away from human developments, so there were no immediate threats to the shrews' safety or future success.

Although the researchers aren't sure how many sengis exist, they're definitely surprised at how far this little creature has managed to travel. Based on genetic similarities, it looks like the first sengis may have originated near Morocco, according to Global Wildlife. Somehow, these tiny little creatures made their way to the Horn of Africa. There, they found a safe place to live and were able to save their own species from extinction.

Scientists want to learn more about sengis, so they're planning to launch a radio-tagging expedition in 2022. This will allow Western researchers to observe the sengi's behavior without directly disrupting their life.

Kelsey Neam, a member of Global Wildlife Conservation, is enthusiastic about the mission. She told the BBC that "finding that the Somali sengi exists in the wild is the first step in conservation. Now that we know it survives, scientists and conservationists will be able to ensure it never disappears again."

The sengi is an adorable creature that clearly knows how to take care of itself. If wild sengis still exist, there's a chance that other nearly extinct species are also hanging on, just waiting to be rediscovered by a scientist.

Are you excited about the 2022 sengi expedition? Talk about your opinions in the comments, and don't forget to pass this story along to your friends and family.