In New Zealand, the return of wild takahē populations marks a cautiously celebrated conservation victory, and the return of one of the world’s rarest creatures. The birds had been formally declared extinct in 1898, their already-reduced population devastated by the arrival of European settlers’ animal companions: stoats, cats, ferrets and rats. After their rediscovery in 1948, their numbers are now at about 500, growing at about 8% a year.

    • Laticauda@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      In the article:

      Their presence in Aotearoa dates back to at least the prehistoric Pleistocene era, according to fossil remains.

      It just means the species has been around since the prehistoric era.