Believed-to-be-extinct egg-laying mammal spotted in Indonesia after six decades

Over 60 years since its last sighting, a team of scientists have rediscovered a Zaglossus attenboroughi on Cyclops Mountain in Indonesia.

According to Kuya Kim’s report on “24 Oras,” Tuesday, the scientists from Oxford University recorded a clip of the animal wandering around the forest.

Also called Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, the rare egg-laying mammal was named after British naturalist, Sir David Attenborough.

A Zaglossus attenboroughi has spikes or spines like a hedgehog, a snout like an anteater, and feet that resemble the limbs of moles.

The only time it was recorded scientifically was in 1961. Since then, it has not been observed or studied.

But in 2007, nose pokes of Zaglossus attenboroughi were observed in the mountains of New Guinea. Nose pokes are the result of the unique feeding technique of echidnas. 

The Zaglossus attenboroughi is currently classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

“The fact alone na may sighting siya, means may pag-asa pa na mag-bounceback ‘yung species niya from disappearing dito sa planet natin. ‘Yung capability niyang dumami ulit is nasa ‘tin nang mga tao pero at least merong pag-asa kasi ‘di pa siya nauubos completely,” veterinarian Dr. Sean Serrano said.

[The fact alone that there's a sighting of it means there's still hope for its species to bounce back from disappearing from our planet. The ability for it to multiply again is in our hands as humans, but at least there's hope because it hasn't been completely depleted yet.]

— Carby Basina/CACM, GMA Integrated News