By Tim Binnall
The famed ivory-billed woodpecker has been spared being declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which plans to take a closer look at the case that the creature might still exist. The announcement is the latest twist in a two-year-long saga that began back in September of 2021 when the department proposed delisting 22 animals as well as a plant from the Endangered Species Act as, they argued, these previously threatened flora and fauna had gone extinct. Among the collection of creatures was the ivory-billed woodpecker, which raised eyebrows as its continued existence has long been debated within scientific circles despite having not been seen since 1944.
In response to the department's announcement, those who believe that the bird still resides somewhere in the southeastern United States set about trying to save the animal from the dispiriting distinction. Researchers who have spent decades trying to track down the creature compiled and submitted compelling photos and possible video evidence for the ivory-billed woodpecker's continued existence. Their efforts earned the animal a six-month reprieve from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last summer as the department announced that feedback from the public revealed "substantial disagreement among experts regarding the status of the species."
On Monday, the department indicated that the case for the ivory-billed woodpecker's existence continues to be uncertain enough that it was taken off the original list of 23 species put forward two years earlier. In a statement detailing the development, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explained that they "will continue to analyze and review the information before deciding" if the bird should be officially declared extinct. The department did not offer any timetable for when that might be, though the news was understandably met with celebration among those who have championed the creature for so long. Do you think the ivory-billed woodpecker is extinct or might it still be lurking somewhere out in the wild waiting to be found? Weigh in on the debate at the C2C Facebook page.