14 “Extinct” Animals You Can Literally Meet Today

Psst! Run! Really. It’s not safe out there! There’s a saber-toothed tiger lurking around. You better be careful.

What are you doing? Don’t peek! Okay... Just one little peek. How’s this possible, you ask? That’s because you’re in virtual reality of course.

These cool but very dangerous looking big cats were alive during the last Ice Age. What if they decided to show up at your doorstep out of nowhere? Knock-knock. A saber-toothed cat is waiting for you to buy its cookies.

The Coelacanth, this massive looking fish, comes from a lineage that’s been around for over 300 million years! We thought they didn’t exist anymore, until 1938 that is, when a live Coelacanth was found again. Since then, they’ve been roaming the waters of the east coast of Africa, and the waters of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Man, I wouldn’t want to go for a swim and meet one of these fellas face to face. Their jaw has an intracranial joint, which means their mouth opens up by a LOT. This is so they can eat large prey. Like me. Not good. They’re huge too! Imagine a fish that’s as long as you’re tall and weighing as much as an average human!

The Takahe, a flightless bird, was thought to be gone in the year 1898. They’re very cute, small and multicolored. Usually not taller than your knee. But picture this. You’re out for a hike in the Murchison Mountains, looking around, you spot the bird you thought was extinct! But there they are, as happy as ever, surviving and chilling. A whole colony of Takahes was indeed found just 50 years after they were pronounced extinct. Good job, tiny little birds.

A singing dog, ever heard of those? Riley does sing sometimes when he’s bored or hungry, but these are real performers: New Guinea Singing dogs. They’ve been only recently discovered again in the wild for the first time in 50 years! Still, they were never completely extinct to begin with: New Guineans made sure they were safe, next to them. But in the wild? Very rare and hard to catch a sight of! Look, there goes one!

The New Guinea Singing dogs are called so because of their famous high pitch singing. They sometimes sing together too. A dog choir of sorts, where they all howl together. I bet they sing better than I do in the shower. Not going far from this area, we have bats, but these ones are sort of different.

You see, their ears are enormous. I guess that’s why they’re called New Guinea Big-Eared Bats. Clever. The species was found again when one of them was accidentally caught in a bat trap. Until then, I guess they were playing hide and seek with us, because up to 1890, they’d been thought to be gone. They’re still not out of the danger zone because of habitat loss.

Imagine you discover a fossil of a species you thought had been extinct for a long time, yet 2 years later, a whole living group of said species is found. Well, this is exactly what happened in 1977 with the Majorcan Midwife Toad. It’s sort of brownish in color with darker brown that makes up its skin spots. Other than that, it’s just a small toad with googly eyes. The group of live toads was found close to where the fossil was, on the Island of Majorca. There aren’t many of them left. About 500 in fact, and as of right now, they’re declared vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Are you a fan of tortoises? You will be when you take a look at this huge beauty. It’s called the Fernandina Island Galápagos Tortoise. It hadn’t been seen since 1906, but on February 17, 2019, we were finally able to look at one of these beautiful creatures. It’s probably out there with a few of its mates right now, but they also don’t allow themselves to be seen. We only know they exist because there’re a few tracks and scents.

With yet another frog, we have the Horned Marsupial Frog. They’re out and about in Ecuador, in the Chocó Forest to be more specific. They’re called this way because of their distinct horns, directly on top of their eyes. You know the pouch kangaroos use to carry their offspring? Well, the female horned marsupial frog also has that, except that it’s on the back, so it acts like a sort of backpack.

They develop their embryos there, and when they’re ready to come out, they hatch as complete infants! Unlike regular frogs, where they start off as tadpoles. One more toad, the Starry night toad, or Harlequin toad. They’re black and covered with loads of white spots all over them. Lost for 30 years, it was discovered back in 2019. Picture them as big bodyguards, water body guards to be exact.

Oh! That’s a very big toad on your screen. Well, for the Arhuaco people, that’s exactly what these are: guardians of water. They also have their own name for them, Gouna. Sounds like a cheese. When scientists found them yet again, they came across 30 of these little creatures, but initially, they were expecting only one. What a nice surprise.

Here’s a tiger for you, although it doesn’t quite look like your typical tiger. It’s called the Tasmanian Tiger, and it seemingly disappeared since 1936, but then, out of nowhere, people started seeing them out there in the wild, just 5 years ago in 2016. They sort of resemble dogs more than tigers, or a fox maybe — just take a good look at its muzzle. Maybe even a mix of both? Then, a few others started popping up too. And if you happen to think you’re seeing one right in front of you, but you’re not quite sure, check if they’ve got stripes on their back. They’re definitely out there, but still technically marked as extinct by the IUCN.

Ok, picture a horse that looks straight out of a movie scene. Tiny, gorgeous fur, very well-behaved. It’s tiny but it’s not a pony. It’s a Caspian horse! They have an interesting backstory to them. They were discovered by Louise Laylin, who got married to an aristocrat in 1957. Having moved to Tehran, Iran she didn’t quite like how the horses behaved there, so she took matters into her own hands. She took a few people with her and off they went to the Caspian Sea Mountain, and in there, they found 3 of these beautiful tiny little horses. That’s how the story goes.

Coming up next, a possum that was found in an unexpected place. Guess where. You have 3 options to pick from. Hiding in a ski resort, in the Australian outback, or in someone’s apartment in the bathroom. Which one do you choose? You have 3 seconds. The right answer is: A ski resort!

Yes, this possum is called The Mountain Pygmy Possum, and it’s originating from Australia. So far, there’re 3 different living populations of this tiny possum, but it was believed to be extinct until just 1966. There’re fewer than 100 of them, so the IUCN has them marked as critically endangered.

Also from Australia, is the Night Parrot. An absolute delight to bird watchers. Very beautiful yet mysterious, these little fellas live in very remote areas. You can probably count on the fingers of your hand how many times these birds have been seen since they were found again in 1979. That’s how rare they are!

Have you ever seen a Pygmy Tarsier? Neither have I. It was only in 2008 that 3 of them were caught. Scientists don’t really want to lose track of their movements again, so what they did was gift them with tiny little collars. This way, they can live their life as happy as ever, and we’ll know they’re safe!

The last one I want to tell you about, is the Tree Lobster, but as the name might mistakenly tell you... they’re not really lobsters. They’re just big black bugs with huge legs. Their extinction story is a sad one. In 1920, a cargo ship got stuck on Lord Howe Island, and it had rats aboard! These rats fled the ship and ran straight to land.

Even though Tree Lobsters are bigger than most insects, they’re still relatively small compared to rats. Poor things never stood a chance. Still, in 2004, life shone again for these distinct critters. A pair of Australian scientists were out and about on the island and came across 24 of them! All of them were living beneath one single shrub. Hey, if there’s enough space for everyone, it’s not small, it’s cozy.

Bottom Line: It’s better to be distinct than extinct, don’t you agree?