Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

The “Extinct” Sea Creature That Just Returned

East London resident Mike Vincent made a discovery that sent shockwaves through South Africa’s marine conservation community when he found the remains of what experts believe is a large-tooth sawfish washed up on a beach south of the Birah River Mouth. This marks the first known sawfish sighting in South African waters since 1999, when the last recorded individual was released alive from KwaZulu-Natal shark nets, making Vincent’s find a potentially game-changing moment for marine conservation. Sawfish, despite their misleading appearance, are actually rays rather than sharks, easily recognizable by their long, flattened snouts edged with tooth-like structures called rostrums, and they’re considered the most endangered elasmobranchs globally.

East London Museum’s Kevin Cole immediately recognized the significance of the find and rushed to collect samples for further study. Knowing that both species known to occur in South Africa, the green sawfish and the large-tooth sawfish, had been presumed locally extinct due to habitat loss and destructive fishing methods like gillnetting. While one sawfish doesn’t signal a full species recovery, conservation experts say it represents something precious: possibility. The discovery has reignited calls for restoring critical estuarine habitats and protecting marine heritage, proving that sometimes the most important conservation victories come from unexpected beach walks. This remarkable sighting reminds us that nature can surprise us even when we think all hope is lost, and that our oceans may still hold secrets we thought were gone forever.

PrevPreviousBlue the Leopard Tortoise’s Recovery Miracle
NextTwo Doses Outperformed Traditional Depression TherapiesNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Programmable Plastic That Could End Pollution FOREVER

December 7, 2025

Scientists from Rutgers University have unveiled plastic for packaging that breaks down under everyday conditions at programmed speeds without adding heat or harsh chemicals. Assistant professor Yuwei Gu and his team published their groundbreaking study in Nature Chemistry. They arranged components of the plastic’s chemical structure so they could start

Read More
Happy News

This 1986 Thanksgiving Tradition Is EXPLODING Now

December 7, 2025

Gus the turkey has been spending Thanksgiving week much differently than the 46 million other unlucky gobblers slaughtered across the United States, as he trots through a sprawling animal sanctuary on the Colorado plains where staff stop every few steps to pet him, hug him, or even give him a

Read More
Happy News

You Won’t Believe What Happens When Music Is Played During Surgery

December 7, 2025

Under the harsh lights of an operating theatre in Delhi, India, a woman lies unconscious during gallbladder removal surgery while gentle flute music plays through headphones over her ears, and though she’s under general anesthesia with much of her brain silenced by drugs, her auditory pathway remains partly active in

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 HappyNews.