THE SEARCH FOR LOST SPECIES

EVEN SPECIES LOST FOR DECADES CAN BE FOUND AGAIN.

It turns out the largest bee on Earth is good at hiding. No one had reported seeing Wallace's giant bee, which is four times larger than a European honey bee, since 1981. Some feared the species had gone extinct. Then, in 2019, a search team found a single female bee in Indonesia. “It was absolutely breathtaking to see this 'flying bulldog' of an insect that we weren't sure existed anymore, to have real proof right there in front of us in the wild" says Clay Bolt. He's the photographer who took photos and videos of the insect, proving it still existed.

There are thousands of species like Wallace's giant bee around the world: rare animals and plants that haven't been seen in the wild for years. These “lost species” may still be out there, likely holding on in remote and unexplored corners of our planet.

Or it's possible they may have gone extinct. But to prevent extinction and protect these species, we must find them first.

Most Wanted Species

That's the mission of the Search for Lost Species campaign. The conservation group Re: wild, which was co-founded by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, launched this global effort in 2017. They define lost species as those not seen in at least 10 years.

Re: wild worked with an international team of more than 100 scientists to come up with a list of 2,100 animals and plants that fit their criteria. From these, they selected the 25 most wanted" — which turned out to be 24 animals and one plant-to serve as poster species for the campaign.

"We started the Lost Species campaign to focus on neglected and overlooked species," says Barney Long, the senior director of conservation strategies at Re: wild. “It's important to conserve pandas and tigers, but there are so many species out there that need help and are not getting it.