The Christmas Island pipistrelle was a microbat that used to live on Christmas Island. It was first recorded by Charles William Andrews in 1900 on his expedition to the island. In those early years, the pipistrelle was very common and would sometimes fly into houses, one even fell in someone’s soup. Their population remained stable through the 1980’s, but began a sharp decrease in 1990. Between 1994 - 2006 this microbat’s population diminished 80%. The exact cause of the pipistrelle’s decline is unknown. Some scientists believed the wolf snake that came to Christmas Island in the 1980’s were to blame. A wolf snake was recorded with an infra-red camera near a pipistrelle roosting site, giving validation to that theory. Disease was ruled out, but a second theory emerged. The bats might have been consuming poison used to control the invasive yellow crazy ant colonies. Regardless of the cause, in 2006 Australia’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee labeled the Christmas Island pipistrelle as ‘critically endangered’ and suggested a captive breeding program be put in place. In January 2009, only 20 individuals could be seen. The Australasian Bat Society urged immediate steps be taken to save the species at that point. On July 1, 2009 the government finally gave permission to capture the last bats from the wild. When scientists finally reached Christmas Island at the beginning of August only one bat could be found after four weeks of searching. They were never able to capture this lone bat, and its last recorded echolocation sounds were recorded on August 26, 2009. This date marks the extinction of the Christmas Island pipistrelle. This microbat was the first mammal to go extinct in Australia in 50 years. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Christmas Island pipistrelle might be a candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from museum specimens that were used for prior genetics testing. The Australian government has been working on initiatives to protect its native wildlife by restoring lost habitat and eliminating invasive species which have plagued the continent and surrounding island territories. Feral cats, crazy yellow ants, wolf snakes, and giant centipedes are just a few of the non-native species that have led to the extinction of so many animals. Australia has set up a Threatened Species Commissioner and federal environment minister to study these problems and look for solutions to save species currently at risk. Some people are trying to get Christmas Island to be labeled ‘World Heritage Site” to bring more public attention to the problems there. An island biodiversity monitoring program has been set up in Christmas Island as well. If the Christmas Island pipistrelle was brought back to life, could it ever be reintroduced to its native homeland in Christmas Island?