After three decades, a “lost” gecko reemerges in South Africa

After 30 years, the elusive Blyde Rondavel Flat Gecko has been rediscovered in South Africa’s Blyde River Canyon, proving biodiversity still hides powerful surprises.

After more than thirty years of silence, the Blyde Rondavel Flat Gecko has resurfaced in South Africa. First sighted in 1991 in Mpumalanga province, the tiny reptile quickly slipped into legend. For decades, no one could confirm it was still alive. Some suspected it had gone extinct, others thought the original discovery might have been a case of mistaken identity.

An extreme expedition rewarded

The breakthrough came thanks to a mission organized by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). Researchers Darren Pietersen and John Davies were flown by helicopter into a nearly inaccessible corner of the Blyde River Canyon, the very place where the gecko had been spotted three decades ago.

There, in the shadow of towering cliffs and hidden among cracks in the rock, the scientists spent long, exhausting days searching. Nights were their best chance. After hours of scanning with headlamps and quiet patience, they finally saw them: not just one, but a population of 20 to 30 individuals. Several were caught and photographed, providing crucial evidence.

“The moment we realized what we were looking at, it felt almost surreal,” one of the researchers admitted. The captured samples and preliminary analyses will now confirm the species’ identity officially, finally closing a chapter of uncertainty that has lingered since the early 1990s.

A reminder of nature’s hidden wealth

The rediscovery of the Blyde Rondavel Flat Gecko is not an isolated case. In recent years, the EWT has also helped bring back to light a rare sand worm, a butterfly, another reptile, and a frog. These stories underscore an essential truth: the world’s biodiversity still holds secrets—many of them small, fragile, and often overlooked.

Too often, conservation attention tilts toward charismatic megafauna—lions, elephants, rhinos—while tiny creatures like this gecko risk vanishing unnoticed. The find in Mpumalanga is more than a scientific triumph. It’s a reminder, almost a plea, to look closer at the richness surrounding us. Because sometimes, what seems gone forever is still there, holding on in the shadows.

Fonte: Endangered Wildlife Trust