A photographer who captured a beautiful bird on a conservation trip later learned they had proved the continued existence of a lost species.
On a trip with the World Wildlife Fund, Tom Vierus of Fiji spotted a raptor high in a tree. The charcoal-colored New Britain goshawk, which features a bright orange eye, had not been documented since 1969.
"I wasn't aware of the significance at the time," Vierus said. "It was such a great surprise to hear."
The predator lives only in New Britain, Papua New Guinea, and though it is "undoubtedly a familiar species to local residents," according to the Search for Lost Birds, it had not been photographed, recorded, or otherwise documented in 55 years.
The reemergence of the vulnerable species, threatened by deforestation and habitat loss, is a conservation success story. The goshawk is usually found in the hinterlands, and Indigenous Mengen and Mamusi peoples are working with WWF to protect the region's biodiversity.
Papua New Guinea is home to the third-largest intact tropical forest in the world after the Amazon and Congo Basin. The bird was spied in the Nakanai Mountains, which are tens of millions of years old.
WWF said the likelihood of discovering new species is high, and community-based conservation will be necessary to protect them.
"It is wonderful to see how conservation photography can help safeguard areas by documenting the existing biodiversity and a good reminder of how important visual storytelling is," Vierus said.
The story is well worth telling since despite our warming planet and the associated problems, people worldwide are taking action to protect animals that need our help. This includes giant tortoises in the Seychelles as well as mice-eating frogs in California.
"I hope this means more efforts are made to protect its habitat from the threats of large-scale agriculture, logging, mining and infrastructure development," said Oscar Pileng, who was born in New Britain and is WWF's officer for the region.
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