Black Kokanee
This particular Japanese salmon was declared extinct back in 1940, after it was believed a hydroelectric plant made its native habitat “more acidic.” But a science professor named Tetsuji Nakabo and a team of researchers rediscovered the species yet again in 2010, living in a lake near Mount Fuji.
New Guinea big-eared bat
In 2012, scientists were working in the forests of Papa New Guinea and they happened to spot a small, strange bat, which didn’t match any of the current records of “microbats” living in the area. Then in May, a bat expert confirmed that the animal was, in fact, a type of bitty bat that was last seen in 1890. Although the bat is quite rare, it is no longer “possibly extinct,” and that’s great news!