A few years later, a glimmer of hope appeared for the ivory billed woodpecker. In 2004, sixty years after the last confirmed sighting of an ivory billed woodpecker, scientists reported a rediscovery of the species. Seven sightings, 100 sound recordings, and a low-quality video all suggested that the ivory billed woodpecker may still be alive. However, in 2011, we are still uncertain of whether the ivory billed woodpecker is indeed extant.
If ivory billed woodpeckers survive anywhere in the world, here are a few of the most likely areas.
The Big Woods (Arkansas)
The last apparent sightings of the ivory billed woodpeckers occurred in 2004 and 2005, in the Big Woods region of Arkansas. This large habitat area includes the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge and the White River National Widlife Refuge, which are among the most suitable and likely habitats for any surviving populations of ivory billed woodpecker. Although sightings in the region remain scientifically unconfirmed, the Big Woods remain a critical potential habitat for this likely-extinct species.
Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (Cuba)
The Alejandro de Humboldt National Park is a national park spanning the Cuban provinces Holgun and Guant¡namo. Known for its abundance of endangered flora and fauna, the park remains largely undisturbed by human settlement. The royal woodpecker, a Cuban subspecies of ivory-billed woodpecker, was last spotted here in 1987. Although it is now considered to be extinct, it is possible that a tiny remnant population exists somewhere in the park. The last confirmed sighting, occurred over 40 years after the last confirmed sighting in the United States.
Sierra Maestra (Cuba)
As much as 80% of the Sierra Maestra region, which was a historic home to the ivory-billed woodpecker, remains ultimately unexplored and uninhabited. Although searches have taken place in the last two years and were unfruitful in finding traces of the ivory-billed woodpecker, some of the birds could conceivably remtain in isolated pockets within the Sierra Maestra mountain range. The ivory-billed woodpecker may still survive within these forests, but only if it receives ongoing protection.
Florida Forests
In the mangrove and inland forests of Florida, there have been several possible reports of ivory-billed woodpeckers surviving in the wild. During 2005 and 2006, in the aftermath of excitement following the species' apparent rediscovery in Arkansas, more than 14 sightings and 41 sound reports popped up in the forests of Florida. Most of these occurred in the mangrove forests surrounding the Choctawhatchee River. An extensive search in 2009 failed to find any conclusive signs of the ivory billed woodpecker, but there is still some hope that they survive in these regions.
It is possible that the ivory billed woodpecker is still a living species. However, it is equally-- if not more-- plausible that it is extinct, or that remnant populations are far too small to facilitate the long-term survival of the species. Although we do not know what the future holds for the ivory billed woodpecker, we do know that the species' best hope lies in continued conservation efforts. By preserving the ivory-billed woodpecker's natural habitat, we help to improve the likelihood that future generations of the species can survive.