Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On a remote peninsula in Indonesian Papua, a species long thought extinct by scientists has been confirmed to survive. The evidence did not come from a formal survey. It began with conversations with Tambrauw elders, who described a forest glider they had known for generations. Their accounts, combined with earlier photographs, led researchers to verify the continued existence of the ring-tailed glider, reports Mongabay’s John Cannon. The finding can be described as a rediscovery, though that framing reflects a scientific perspective, not a local one. For the Tambrauw, the animal was never lost. It remains part of a body of knowledge tied to hunting, story and custom. The glider also carries cultural significance, including a role in initiation practices. That status affected how openly it was discussed with outsiders and helps explain why earlier expeditions did not document it. In Papua, similar accounts have surfaced in recent years. Fieldwork has also confirmed the persistence of other animals once listed as extinct, including a long-fingered possum and Attenborough’s echidna. Each case reflects a similar dynamic. Scientific absence does not necessarily mean actual absence; it can reflect a gap in access or trust. A parallel line of research, focused on birds, points to the broader value of long-held observation. In a global study drawing on Indigenous and local memory, researchers reconstructed changes in bird communities over roughly eight decades. Participants consistently described a shift toward…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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