4 MORE Extinct Animals That I Believe Could Still Be Alive...

Just because an animal is declared extinct doesn't mean it's actually gone. I've spent my career tracking down species thought to be lost forever, and I know for a fact that some more extinct animals are still out there. From a predator that once roamed Japan to a prehistoric giant that shouldn't exist, here are four more extinct animals that I believe could still be alive. First up, the Megatherium. Imagine a giant mammal the size of a baby elephant chilling in South America. The Megatherium, or giant ground sloth, was a 13-foot-tall, four-ton prehistoric herbivore that roamed South America during the Pleistocene. Unlike today's sloths, which are small, slow, and arboreal, this thing was built like a tank. It had prehensile lips that allowed it to pick apart specific parts of plants and fruits, and massive claws that could tear through thick vegetation or even defend itself if needed. Like many megafauna of the late Pleistocene, the Megatherium's downfall coincides with the arrival of humans in the Americas. Some of the earliest evidence of humans in South America line up almost perfectly with the disappearance of the species. So what that means is human beings came to South America, settled in, and had this 14-foot-tall towering giant sloth to contend with, and, believe it or not, eat, because there is even direct evidence of human predation on these ground sloths. In Argentina, archaeologists discovered burned Megatherium bones suggesting they were used as a regular food source. But what if some survived? The first Megatherium fossils were discovered in 1788 along the Lujan River in Argentina. And since then, remains have been found all over South America. But fossils only tell part of the story. In recent years, indigenous communities in the Amazon have reported sightings of a massive, slow-moving creature deep in the rainforest. The fact that locals still claim to see something this big is worth investigating. Anyway, the journey I would take would start in Argentina, where the majority of the Megatherium remains have been found, and follow the fossil trail north towards Brazil and into the Amazon basin. In speaking with local tribes, it would be critical to understand the indigenous knowledge, and it's this exact indigenous knowledge that is what's only in the rumor mill floating around to support the idea that there are signs of feeding, and burrows, and tracks, and all these things of the Megatherium. So if you could find these strange and unusual tunnels or footprints, that would lead to the best chance, of course, of finding actual evidence of the Megatherium. But the reality is, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give the likelihood of a giant sloth still being alive today probably about a 2 out of 10, but it would still be worth going to look. So speaking of going on expeditions, I'm very excited to announce that I have recently partnered with Huckberry. Now, if you haven't heard of Huckberry, they provide some of the best gear in the world. I'm stoked. I mean, I'm literally wearing their jacket, their shirt, their pants, their shoes, everything, and I'm thrilled because I've already got to put Huckberry to the test while walking through the jungle of India with Asiatic elephants. It was an incredible experience, and I'm just really, really excited to announce my partnership with Huckberry. So please go and check out their gear. It's absolutely awesome. And now, let's talk about an animal that I think could still be out there, and not only shrouded in mystery, but deeply ingrained in Japan's history, culture, and even its mythology, the Japanese wolf. Also known as the Honshu wolf, this small stocky canid once roamed the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kuyushu before being declared extinct in 1905. Unlike its larger cousin, the Hokkaido wolf, this species had a shorter snout, was more compact, and a bushy tail. Farmers even used wolf skulls to ward off evil and protect their crops from Japanese boars. This, of course, helped lead to its demise. But as human populations expanded, habitat loss, rabies outbreaks, and human-wildlife conflict pushed the species to its supposed extinction. Or did it? In 1996, a Japanese researcher by the name of Hiroshi Yagi took photos of a wolf-like animal in the mountains. It is said to have walked right up to him without a care in the world. Experts analyzed the images, myself included, and agreed that it looked eerily similar to a Japanese wolf. That was the last we heard of it until 2018, when something even stranger happened. Yagi and his team set up 70 camera traps in the national park, and one night, they heard a howl. And when they analyzed that howl, it was found to be nearly identical to that of the eastern wolf, a very close relative of the Japanese wolf. Now, if that's not enough, in 2021, genetic study found that the Japanese wolf is distinct from all living Eurasian wolves, possibly its own unique branch of the wolf-dog family tree. In fact, it's more closely related to the dingos and New Guinea singing dogs than it is to modern wolves. If the Japanese wolf is still out there, where would it be hiding? The best places to look, in my opinion, are Mount Fuji's 78-mile forested base, remote, rugged, and packed with tons of prey like deer and boar. To find it, I'd use a ton of camera traps, I'd use bioacoustic recorders to capture and compare potential howls, and of course, a DNA sampling kit. And this is how I'd test for scat, fur, bones, any traces of Japanese wolf. I'd even use eDNA in the water sources to see if there is wolf slobber or pee. With all the evidence stacking up, I think the wolf has a real yet small potential of still being out there. So on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this one a solid 4 out of 10. Next up, an incredible species that itself does not know whether or not it's a shark or a stingray, aptly named the false shark ray. The false shark ray is an extremely rare species of ray known only from the shallow coastal Atlantic waters of Banque d'Aguin, Mauritania. This false shark ray has morphology unlike any other creature in the entire world. It's not a bow mouth. It's not a guitar shark. It's not a shark. It's not a stingray. It's something in between all of those and the fact that this incredible unique species that lives in this tiny endemic range is lost to science is criminal and I think that we need to go out there and find it. While local fishermen have known about it for centuries, it was not officially recorded by scientists until 1998. Mauritania, located on the northwestern coast of Africa, will be the starting point for an expedition to rediscover this elusive species. Myself, accompanied by my good friend and amazing shark researcher, Dr. Dave Ebert, would begin our search in the bustling fish markets of Noa Chukot. These markets are frequented by fishermen from across the country and may hold valuable clues about the ray status. Given its restrictive range and its resemblance to the African wedgefish, we sort of know a little bit about where it's going to hang out, the type of sandy bottom and the type of environment, which is going to make locating the false shark ray extremely challenging. It's likely in very turbid waters, in an area that's been overfished. If we were able to find it, its survival would mean an important conservation breakthrough given that this thing is rarely ever observed. To confirm its survival, my team would have to employ underwater surveys, baited ROVs. I recently found these seaweed cameras, which are like underwater trail cameras. And if we were able to just get some form of visual proof of this unbelievably unique and weird morphological shark ray hybrid, it would be a huge, huge finding. And in my opinion, this is one that still exists if it hasn't been fished to extinction. It just is something that nobody is looking for. I give this one a likelihood of survival of a solid nine out of 10. Next up, one of the largest lizards in the world, the Boquart's giant skink. It's the world's largest skink species endemic to the Isle of Pines off of the coast of New Caledonia. It has long curved sharp teeth that may be used for predation of birds and other larger prey. Unlike most skinks though, it is at least partially arboreal and presumed to be diurnal. So it's a daytime tree climbing giant skink. Due to its extremely limited range, the species faced severe threats from habitat loss due to development, bushfires, and many invasive predators. Very little is known about the ecology of this animal and it remains one of the most elusive reptiles ever documented. Previous confirmed sightings by scientists occurred in 2003, 2009, 2013, suggesting that a small but possibly persistent population of this Boquart's giant skink existed. But the Isle of Pines has yielded only a handful of observations of this species in history. My team would take a seaplane out to the Isle of Pines. We'd navigate the island using kayaks. Once we found the right areas, we'd meet with the indigenous Kanyak people who have lived there since the 1700s. We'd gather local knowledge. We'd search with a focus on dense forested areas where previous sightings have occurred. We'd try camera traps, nocturnal surveys, tree scanning techniques. And if we were to see it, I don't know if any of you have ever tried to catch skinks before, but it's not an easy thing to catch. So what I would potentially want to do is use a lizard nooser to try and noose the skink if we could find it. And if nothing else, try and collect a breeding pair of these Boquart's giant skinks that could remain on the island but breed an insurance colony in case all of these skinks disappeared. So all this considered, I would say that the Boquart's giant skink is still out there. It just hasn't been properly studied and people don't know whether or not it's extinct or extant. And it is likely functionally extinct, meaning if a breeding effort is not put into place, it will ultimately be eliminated in a very short time period. So I give this guy a very high seven out of 10 of still being out there. All right, guys, I hope you enjoyed this. I love doing these extinct animals that could still be out there videos because it makes me think of the expeditions that I could go on to try and find these animals that the world should not be giving up on. Like, comment, and follow, and I'll see you soon.