The miraculous return of the golden mole: They rediscovered a species that had not been seen for nearly 100 years

In a surprising turn in terms of biodiversity conservation, scientists in South Africa have confirmed the rediscovery of biodiversity Winton's golden molea mammal believed to have been extinct since 1936. After a two-year search, which included the use of a sniffer dog and the collection of environmental DNA (eDNA), a team from the Endangered Wildlife Foundation (EWT) and the University of Pretoria identified this species in the sand dunes of northern West of the country.

This discovery, which featured careful collection of soil samples followed by genetic analysis, represents a decisive advance in the field of environmental conservation.

“While many doubted that Winton's golden mole still existed, I was certain that the species had not yet disappeared,” Cobus Theron, EWT's senior conservation manager and expedition leader, said in a statement.

Since the golden mole lives in almost inaccessible burrows and rarely leaves tunnels behind, the team relied on advanced eDNA technology, which includes Look for DNA that animals leave behind in their environment, such as skin cells, hair or feces.

“Extracting DNA from soil is not without its challenges, but we honed our skills and improved our techniques…and were quite confident that if Winton's golden mole was present in the environment, we could detect it by finding and sequencing its DNA.” said Samantha Meinhardt, a conservation geneticist at EWT and Stellenbosch University.

Precise identification of the species was made possible by comparing it to the reference DNA sequence of Winton's golden mole, which the South African Museum has held for decades. By comparing the eDNA sequence with the reference sample, the match was confirmed, which was documented in the scientific journal Preserving biological diversity.

The discovery comes shortly after scientists from Oxford University documented the presence of another mammal thought to be extinct, the long-beaked Echidna Attenborough, during an expedition in Indonesia's Papua province. The species, which was only seen once in 1961, was discovered using remote tracking cameras in the inaccessible Cyclops Mountains.

“It is a story of hope. It shows that there is still opportunity, even in this day and age, to discover new things, learn more, and preserve more.“Theron added.

The Golden Mole Project was a collaboration with the conservation group Re, as part of the Search for Lost Species programme, which aims to locate species whose status is uncertain. The animal is the eleventh of the “wanted and lost species” to be rediscovered since the program was launched in 2017.

The detection technology used could also bring hope for future missions around the world. “Now we have not only solved the puzzle, we have tapped into the frontier of e-DNA where there is a tremendous amount of opportunity not only for moles, but also for other lost or endangered species,” Theron said.

Despite the celebration, specialists note that conservation action is “critical and urgent” to protect populations that may be threatened by habitat loss due to diamond mining in the area. This underscores the need to ensure the continuity of the habitat of De Winton's golden mole, before undertaking further studies on this species.