The Lord Howe Island stick insect, also known as the tree lobster, has been rediscovered after being thought extinct for decades. This large invertebrate, which can grow up to 20 centimetres long, was once common on Lord Howe Island but was wiped out by black rats introduced by a shipwreck in 1918.
In 2001, Australian scientists David Priddel and Nicholas Carlile found three live female stick insects under a single shrub on Ball's Pyramid, a steep rock formation 20km off Lord Howe Island. Further individuals were found in 2002, leading to a breeding pair being taken to Melbourne Zoo.
The species has since been successfully bred in captivity, with thousands of stick insects now reared in six zoos worldwide. Plans are in place for their reintroduction to another islet and eventually back to Lord Howe Island, where the invasive black rat and house mouse population was confirmed as eradicated in 2025.