James Borrell is a biodiversity scientist and science communicator researching how people and nature can adapt to environmental change.

The last call of a probably extinct species

I still find it amazing in the 21st century, with Iphones, curved LCD TVs and 3D printers that species can still slip to extinction.

One of the most recent (and most ignored?) is the Christmas Island Pipistrelle. Though it weights only 3 grams and lives on the legendary Christmas Island, it is is fairly unremarkable.

That is aside from the fact that researchers trying to save the species happened to be there at the time the last one died. The recording below, lets you listen to the echolocation calls of the last of it’s kind.

The last individual was recorded on the August 26th 2009, and then it went silent. None have been heard since. The mission to save the species came too late. It’s the first Australian mammal to go extinct in 50 years.

The short video below is short, but excellent – set it to full screen.

The Christmas Island Pipistrelle

If the video doesn’t work, here’s a link.

More info:

Island bat goes extinct after Australian officials hesitate

And then there were none