A species of freshwater dolphin thought to be extinct may have returned to the Yangtze river in Asia, Chinese conservationists say.

An amateur expedition team claims it spotted the baiji—known as the “goddess of the Yangtze” or the white dolphin—in a stretch of the world’s third longest river near the city of Wuhu, even though the creature was declared functionally extinct by researchers a decade ago, The Guardian reports.

“At around 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday, the team of 11 saw what looked like a dolphin in the Yangtze river close to the city of Wuhu, in Anhui province, while on a one-week expedition to look for the animal,” a description on the government-backed news website Sixth Tone reads. “The dolphin jumped out of the water in easy view of one of the team’s boats, which was around 100 meters away. People on the team’s second boat, which was around 300 meters away, also saw the animal.”

This is not the first time a creature thought to be extinct has been rediscovered—sometimes after many years. When this happens, the species becomes a “Lazarus species”—named after the biblical story in which Jesus miraculously raises Lazarus from the dead.

Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Kate Samuelson at kate.samuelson@time.com.