In 1882, it was first discovered on a small island in Papua New Guinea , like a glimpse, a flash in the pan; until November 2022, 140 years later, it was still on the same island, and people thought it had been extinct for a hundred years. It reappeared, as if to prove to people that although many years have passed, and although "I" do not often come out for a walk, "I" is indeed still alive!
And this creature that has brought great surprise to mankind is "Black-naped Pheasant" - a bird with a unique timbre.
Known as the "unicorn among birds", it had been judged to be "extinct" many years ago. Now it suddenly appeared in the forest, but it made researchers ecstatic. Because this not only means that it may have companions that have not yet become extinct, but other species that have been declared extinct may also have hope of recovery!
The "unicorn among birds" with black birthmarks
There was an interval of 140 years, almost a century and a half, between the last time the black-naped pheasant dove was discovered and its reappearance. For many years, zoologists have been searching for traces of it, but to no avail. It wasn't until October 2022 that a group of zoologists installed an infrared camera on Ferguson Island in Papua New Guinea in order to scientifically investigate the existence of other animals, and accidentally captured a black-naped pheasant dove foraging for food.
The black-naped pheasant is one of the ground-dwelling doves. Dove refers to the part of the dove and pigeon that is smaller but has a longer tail, and pigeon refers to the remaining part. The two are collectively called dove and pigeon . The names can be used interchangeably. One of the biggest features is that the feathers are particularly bright and beautiful.
Most doves and pigeons "live" in trees, and only a few inhabit the ground or rocks, and the black-naped pheasant dove is one of these ground-dwelling doves and pigeons. This is also one of its characteristics.
pheasant dove is just a pheasant dove, why do we need to add "black pillow"? In humans, the pillow refers to the back of the head where the brain is located, and similarly in birds, it refers to the area that supports the head. The black-naped pheasant-dove refers to the bird whose occipital part is covered with large black areas.
But the difference between the black-naped pheasant and other doves is that the black-naped pheasant is not too small. It looks about the same size as domestic chickens. Like chickens, it also likes to "wander" back and forth on the ground. Moreover, the call of the black-naped pheasant is very unique, just like the cry of a baby. It is so unique that people cannot forget it after hearing it. So this is why experts on animal inspections are sure that it will be discovered once it appears.
The black-naped pheasant dove is called the "unicorn among birds" for a reason. One of the reasons is that the number of is really too rare! In fact, the numbers of all pheasant and dove birds are very rare, and the characteristics of black pillows are even more rare. According to expert estimates, the total number of black-naped pheasants in the world now totals no more than a hundred, and this number is still decreasing.
The second reason is that There are really not many environments suitable for black-naped pheasant doves to live, and it can even be said to be few and single . From the discovery on a small island in Papua New Guinea 140 years ago to the reappearance of traces on the same island 140 years later, plus years of fruitless monitoring and searches in other parts of the world, experts said that this gave them reason to believe that the island called Ferguson in Papua New Guinea is the only habitat of the black-naped pheasant.
Pheasants and doves all like to live in tropical climate areas, and the black-naped pheasant is no exception. Papua New Guinea is located near the equator and in the western South Pacific. It has a typical tropical monsoon climate.
Moreover, because the local residents are indigenous and follow an ancient and primitive way of life, they cause minimal damage to the land and nature, helping to protect the local rich species of flora and fauna and the ecological environment.This kind of ecological environment is what countless unique and rare birds need. It is also the complete and sufficient ecological environment of that gave birth to the rare black-naped pheasant..
In addition, unicorns also have special meanings. For example, when a rare unicorn appears, it can bring about a series of good luck things that are rarely seen in ordinary times. Therefore, the emergence of the black-naped pheasant dove, the "unicorn among birds," is also considered to be the beginning of an era in which more rare creatures will appear.
The Endangered Mystery of the Black-naped Pheasant
People are undoubtedly surprised and happy that the Black-naped Pheasant-Dove has reappeared after more than 140 years, but they are also full of doubts: Where has the Black-naped Pheasant-Dove gone over the years? It is so rare that experts even thought it was extinct? How did it become an endangered species?
mentioned the gradual disappearance or even extinction of living things. One of the unavoidable reasons for all living things is the collision of geology and ecology.
Such geological collisions do not necessarily mean that plates violently collide with plates or "abnormal events" such as large volcanoes erupting indefinitely. In fact, it is very likely that just a rise and fall of the tide, an instant eruption of a volcano tens of millions of miles away, or even a rise in sea level, can cause oscillations on the plane of the Milky Way, fluctuations in geochemical variables, etc.
The above geological changes are the causes of biological extinction. In particular, Papua New Guinea is located near the equator and is subject to the largest range of tidal influence, and tidal changes usually herald the arrival of extreme weather.
Moreover, this country is surrounded by volcanoes. Extreme weather, such as drought, heavy rain, volcanic eruptions and solar storms, will lead to the deterioration of the regional ecological environment, resulting in the reduction of arboreal vegetation suitable for birds, forcing birds that originally lived in trees to evolve into "ground-dwelling birds" .
And another main reason is the indiscriminate deforestation of forests and trees. Although Papua New Guinea does not have many traces of modern human technology, the primitive tribes living here will cause humans to cut down trees unabated. After all, the most primitive way to make fire is to burn firewood.
Moreover, timber is one of Papua New Guinea's main export resources. Since 2016, the country has become China's largest source of timber, providing 29% of imports.
Among Papua New Guinea’s land area of 462,800, 70% of the land is forest, which provides habitat for rare animals and plants and is the basis of livelihood for the eight million people here. However, in the six years since 2016, 640,000 hectares of forest have disappeared in Papua New Guinea. The disappearance of these trees may not be the reason why the black-naped pheasant has disappeared for many years.
Land without forests cannot breed rich biological species, and a single species chain will only lead to a decrease in the reproductive capacity and viability of birds. From the initial decrease in the number of organisms to the extinction of the genetic sequence information contained in the organisms, the final path can only be for the black-naped pheasant to be on the verge of extinction and the ecosystem to face collapse.
The "unicorn" effect of the black-naped pheasant
So why did the black-naped pheasant appear after 140 years? Did it just "briefly" disappear because it did not appear in front of human eyes, or was it actually a creature that had disappeared and then "resurrected"? In other words, does the reappearance of the black-naped pheasant dove indicate that more extinct or endangered species will be "resurrected" in the future?
[1] Extinct birds may not be extinct, but are just "hidden"
When it comes to the "resurrection" of the black-naped pheasant, many people will subconsciously think of other extinct or endangered rare birds, such as the coastal bullfinch, which became extinct in 1987, and the most famous extinct bird , the dodo ... Can these birds be "resurrected" again?
First of all, the extinction period of birds such as the Dodo was too early, and it disappeared before there was even a little bit of genetic gene information left. For this type of birds or creatures that became extinct too early, "resurrection" may be impossible. Because there is a lack of relevant research on this species that has been extinct for too long, even if it is discovered, the other party will not recognize how rare it is.
However, for many birds that have become extinct in recent times, they have not actually disappeared. They have just escaped to habitats more suitable for survival and reproduction in order to better adapt to the current environment and ecology.
For example, the Bermuda petrel, which was declared extinct as early as the 16th century, was rediscovered in 1951 by American ornithologist Robert Cushman Murphy, naturalists Louis Mowbray and David Wingate in Castle Bay, Bermuda Islands .
Moreover, what was discovered this time were 18 pairs of Bermuda petrels nesting here. It is precisely because of the existence of these 18 pairs of Bermuda petrels that it greatly helped the subsequent artificial participation in natural conservation to increase the number of organisms.
Coincidentally, the reappearance of the black-naped pheasant dove may not be "extinct" in the true sense. It just "hides" in a place on the small island of Papua New Guinea that is more suitable for their breeding and survival.
[2] The gradual extinction of organisms is actually giving humans time to save them
According to the World Conservation Union , the endangerment levels of organisms are divided into extinct, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, least endangered and lack of data. Among them, what we often call species extinction means that after the extinction of a biological cluster, the last individuals of an animal die one after another until it completely disappears.
But how does determine that the dead animal is the last one? Unable to determine, extremely difficult . Therefore, this also leads to the need for multiple, frequent and long-interval detailed searches of the habitat of an organism before an official organization officially declares the extinction of an organism. If, after many searches, experts still find no trace of the species, it will be declared extinct.
Therefore, during this period of time, the number of these birds is already extremely low, coupled with their own cautious and distant character, it is not easy to find them again once they hide.
After all, no matter how powerful humans are, there will be places on this huge earth that humans cannot explore, and there will also be life forms that humans cannot fully control. The discovery of the black-naped pheasant was also discovered accidentally while observing other creatures.
Many enthusiastic followers are curious, Whether the reappearance of the black-naped pheasant dove means that this group exists in large numbers, or does it mean that more extinct birds are actually still alive? First of all, we can be sure that the existence of black-naped pheasant doves is not limited to the one in the camera data. According to zoologists, it was later determined that there are about a hundred black-naped pheasant doves living in Papua New Guinea.
Secondly, the reappearance of the black-naped pheasant dove brings to mankind this foreshadowing: If we really want to save endangered creatures and "resurrect" extinct creatures, humans need to conduct longer, broader, and more targeted investigations and surveys to save these creatures before the last individual of them dies!
The Vietnamese mousedeer, which was classified as extinct in the 1990s, was discovered again almost 30 years later in infrared camera files compiled by zoologists in the rainforest. The spearfish , which biologists believe went extinct with the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous 65 million years ago, was discovered in 1938 by zoologist Marjorie Courtney Latimer while inspecting fishermen.
Vietnamese Mouse Deer
Speartail Fish
The extinction of living things was announced by man, not the so-called "created by God". Therefore, it is urgent to save extinct birds and creatures. It is very important to increase awareness of environmental protection, and it is also very important to strengthen observation of the activity trajectories of animals in the area.
The black-naped pheasant dove, the "unicorn among birds", can indeed open a new era of discovering more "extinct creatures", as long as humans pay more attention to it, and as long as humans arrange it more carefully!
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