Searching for a Lost Species that hasn’t been seen since 1936 may seem like searching for a needle in a haystack, but Jean Pierre “JP” Le Roux hasn’t let that stop him from putting his detective skills to work.
As a member of the expedition team with South Africa Endangered Wildlife Trust searching for De Winton’s Golden Mole, Jean Pierre was tasked with the difficult job of finding locations with signs of golden moles. Over the course of several months, he visited different locations with evidence of golden mole activity.
During site visits, Jean Pierre talked with diamond mining companies and local landowners to learn more about the wildlife on their properties. If the sites seemed promising he worked with them to obtain permission to enter and search them, sites with active golden mole activity were selected for the search expedition.
His preparations were invaluable to the expedition that went out to Port Nolloth in June 2021. Nearly every site the team visited on that expedition had signs of fresh golden mole activity.
JP is a keen herpetologist and always finds other interesting and elusive species when out in the field.
Wild Facts
There are 21 species of golden moles.
De Winton’s Golden Mole was last seen in 1936.
The West Coast of South Africa is under severe threat of mining, agriculture and residential development.