Earth is home to many wonderful wildlife, but sadly, some species that once called Earth home no longer exist. These are called extinct animals.
We're not just talking about roaring – some prehistoric dinosaurs! There are also "recently extinct" animals - animals that have been extinct since the 1500s. Join us as we travel back in time and discover the sad story of eight incredible creatures...
dodo
Mauritius 1680s
Only a few bones and part of the bones remain today – so it's no wonder we have the saying "dead like a dodo"! But these chubby, flightless birds once lived well in the forests of Mauritius. Their tragic story begins in the 16th century, when Dutch sailors arrived on the island and hunted the clever bird. However, the main reason for the extinction of the dodo was the animals brought by sailors, such as cats, pigs, and rats, who ate dodo eggs in large quantities and outperformed birds in terms of food, exterminating them in the 1680s.
Great Auk Rocky Islands off the North Atlantic coast (1844)
The black-and-white Great Auk has been found around the North Atlantic, where they swam precariously along rugged shores – including in the UK – or swim in the waves with their short wings. But in the early 19th century, the Great Auk was hunted in large numbers for its feathers, meat, and oil because it was believed to have supernatural powers. These flightless, defenseless birds are not afraid of humans and are easy to catch. The sailors would simply fence them off, then take them to the ship, and slam them on the head. Not puffins - some endings.
thylacine
Tasmania, mainland Australia and New Guinea (1936)
Also known as the Tasmanian tiger, the thylacine was once the world's largest carnivorous marsupial. It looks a bit like a wolf, but has tawny fur, stripes on its back, and a thick, long tail. Its scientific name, Thylacinus cynocephalus, means "dog-headed kangaroo" in Greek. Despite the population's suffering from disease and habitat loss, it is believed that humans are to blame for the eventual extinction of the thylacine. Since ferocious carnivores loved to feed on sheep and other livestock, European settlers quickly killed them – in fact, the Tasmanian government even paid people to do so! The last known thylacine died in 1936 at the Hobart Zoo in Australia.
Steller's Sea Cow
North Pacific Bering Sea (1768)
German naturalist Georg W. Steller first studied and described this amazing animal in the North Pacific in 1741. Related to today's manatees and dugongs, the Steller's Manatee is a large marine mammal up to 10 meters in length – twice the length of a large family car! They live in peaceful herds and feed on seagrass, kelp and algae. Sadly, sailors and seal hunters soon realized that the animal's fat provided a large food supply for their voyages, and they began to hunt them on a spree. Outcome? Steller's manatee extinction was discovered only 27 years ago.
bison
Europe and Asia (1627)
Turn the clock back a few centuries and you'll find huge, horned bison roaming the forests of Europe and parts of Asia – perfect hunting fodder for early humans. Today, the remains of these giant bulls are only a few skeletons from the museum, as well as prehistoric cave paintings of some of the behemoths in the Lascaux caves in France, which date back 20,000 years! It is highly likely that bison were the ancestors of today's cows, but they were much larger and could grow up to 1.85 meters (much taller than the average person!). ）。 The last bison lived in Poland, where this massive breed became extinct in 1627.
Australian Stomach Breeding Frog (1980s)
Tadpoles swim in ponds, right? Not an incredible stomach brooding frog. The female will "eat" her own frog eggs, incubate the tadpoles in her stomach for 6-7 weeks, "shut down" digestive juices and stop eating. They then "give birth" to a litter of small frogs by spitting them out of their mouths through projectiles. Wow! Sadly, Australian amphibians became extinct within a decade of their discovery in 1973. But we have exciting news... By extracting cells from gastric brooders frozen in the lab years ago and implanting them into the eggs of today's living frogs, scientists hope to bring this superspecies back to life.
Tecopa Pupfish, California (1981)
These amazing little fish used to swim in two hot spring waters in Death Valley, California, USA. Tecopa killifish is small but tough and has adapted to water temperatures of 43°C. But in 1965, the springs where they lived converged to build a bathhouse, the water was so hot and salty that the fish could not survive. As a result, in 1970, the poor killifish was added to the endangered species list - unfortunately, too late. By 1981, it was declared extinct - another terrible result of human development.
Chinese baiji dolphin
(2004)
In ancient Chinese folklore, the nearly blind Baiji Dolphin is said to be the reincarnation of a princess who drowned for refusing to marry someone she did not love. Sadly, the true story of the white dolphin is equally tragic. Until the 50s of the 20th century, thousands of small aquatic animals of light gray were still frolicking in the murky waters of the Yangtze River in China. However, due to overfishing, ship collisions and pollution, these mammals are thought to be now extinct. While they are still listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, no confirmed sightings of this spectacular swimmer have been confirmed since 2004.