How do we know that a species has definitely gone extinct (as opposed to just being extremely rare/elusive)?
In: Biology
We can’t be sure, that’s why some species “come back to life” after years of supposed extinction.
>*Evolutionary biology isn’t always a perfect science. Researchers themselves have even given a name to species that they mistakenly believed to be extinct. Named for the legendary Lazarus who came back from the dead, Lazarus species are the wide variety of animals that have seemed to do the same thing. They’ve gone from officially not existing to existing once again. It’d be miraculous if they hadn’t actually been alive all along. When these creatures had gone unseen for years upon years, scientists just wrote them off. When they reappeared (sometimes more than 100 years after last being seen!) they totally shocked the world. We can only hope that some of today’s endangered and extinct species will pleasantly surprise us with Lazarus status in the future.*
[Whole article](https://www.thetravel.com/14-creatures-scientists-thought-were-extinct-but-arent-11-gone-forever/)
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