Still alive! Golden mole not seen for 80 years and presumed extinct is found again in South Africa

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Researchers in South Africa say they have rediscovered a mole species that has an iridescent golden coat and the ability to “swim” through sand dunes after it hadn’t been seen for more than 80 years and was thought to be extinct. The De Winton’s golden mole — a small, blind burrower with “super-hearing powers” — was found to be still alive on a beach in Port Nolloth on the west coast of South Africa by a team of researchers from the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the University of Pretoria. The researchers say it had been lost to science since 1936.