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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Supposedly extinct kangaroo rat resurfaces after 30 years [sciencemag.org]

The last time anyone saw the San Quintin kangaroo rat was more than 30 years ago, in the arid scrublands of Baja California in Mexico. Mexican authorities declared the small mammal critically endangered, and possibly extinct, in 1994. So biologists couldn't believe their eyes when not one, but four San Quintin kangaroo rats (Dipodomys gravipes) hopped into their survey traps in 2017 [sdnhm.org].

[...] The researchers attribute the kangaroo rat's comeback to a dramatic decrease in farming over the past decade, thanks to drought-related water shortages. Although the researchers are concerned that farmers may eventually make their own comeback, they are optimistic that the San Quintin kangaroo rat will persist, as it has also shown up in a nearby nature reserve. They say it also offers hope for other "extinct" small mammals, which may be findable if only researchers take the time and effort to track them down.

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