A large "walking stick" insect thought to be extinct since the 1920s is the subject of an international breeding program announced last week.
The Lord Howe Island stick insect was wiped out within two years after rats came ashore Lord Howe Island during a shipwreck in 1918.
The insect, nicknamed the tree lobster could grow up to the size of a human hand and was the heaviest flightless insect, according to NPR.
Sightings of the insect's skeleton were reported during the 1960s on a remote volcanic rock formation 14 miles from Lord Howe Island.
It was not until a nighttime rock climbing excursion that scientists were able to verify and document that the species had been rediscovered.
Scientists found a colony of 24 of the insects clinging to Ball's Pyramid, a narrow, nearly 2,000-foot rock formation. Only four of the insects were taken into captivity for breeding. One pair at the Melbourne zoo, named Adam and Eve, survived.
Now, Melbourne Zoo officials announced that they have 13,000 eggs with hundreds shipped to zoos in San Diego, Toronto and Bristol as part of an international breeding program.
"By sending the eggs overseas, we are aiming to set up insurance populations in Europe and North America, to help ensure the future of the species," Melbourne Zoo director, Kevin Tanner told Yahoo News.
About the Author
