It’s worth mentioning that the people living in Djibouti never considered these sengis to be missing, though this rediscovery brings the Somali sengi back into the scientific community.

“This is a welcome and wonderful rediscovery during a time of turmoil for our planet, and one that fills us with renewed hope for the remaining small mammal species on our most-wanted list, such as the DeWinton’s golden mole, a relative of the sengi, and the Ilin Island cloud runner,” Steven Heritage told BBC.