"Whether it's flying in the sky or swimming in the water, none of them can escape the covetousness of foodies. ”
You know, there have been countless creatures on Earth, but they have also perished for various reasons.
However, what is surprising is that some creatures are eaten to extinction.
What's going on here?
The Mysteriously Disappeared Manatee: How Fast Are Lives Disappearing?
The Stella Manatee is a large marine mammal that lives in the Bering Sea region and has made a lasting impression on history with its huge size and unique appearance.
However, despite the fact that this amazing creature was once considered one of the most beautiful creatures of the ocean, their fate was tragic.
In 1741, the German naturalist Stella was killed on an expedition to the Arctic and stranded on an uninhabited island.
On the island, which was later named Bering Island, Stella stumbles upon a strange group of sea creatures that resemble elephants but swim underwater, are whale-like but vegan.
This is the Tesla manatee, known as the "elephant of the sea".
The Tesla Manatee is a huge marine mammal with a body length of about 10 meters and a weight of more than 10 tons.
Their Xi habits are also very unique, usually moving in groups, sometimes forming large groups of dozens of heads.
Individuals in these groups appear to have strong ties with each other, and when a member is attacked, other members come to the rescue. This spirit of solidarity and collaboration has made the Stella manatee an important part of the marine ecosystem.
Although they are called "walruses", they are not really elephants, but rather a type of dugong, which gets its name from its udders that resemble female suckling pigs.
At the time, researchers speculated that there were only a few thousand of these sea creatures roaming the planet.
However, something shocking happened, and that was that in the following time, all the Stella manatees disappeared in a very short period of time.
At that time, people did not know much about marine life, and their knowledge of the Stella manatee was even more limited.
However, when Stella and his team discovered the mysterious creature on the island, they didn't immediately study it, opting instead to use it as a new food source.
They believe that the meat of this animal is delicious and nutritious, making it a very ideal ingredient.
So, they began to hunt and kill the Stella manatees in large numbers, serving them as food for the ship's crew.
However, they did not realize that this large-scale killing would lead to a drastic decline in the population of the Stella manatee.
As time went on, the number of Stella manatees dwindled until the last of them was hunted and the creature completely disappeared from the earth.
Dodo: A victim of greedy humans
The dodo, once the pride of the island of Mauritius and regarded as the patron saint of the island, has unfortunately become one of the shortest-lived national symbols in history due to voracious human desires and profit drives.
Historical records record that as early as 1507, the Portuguese first set foot in Mauritius and began a large-scale invasion.
At that time, their pursuit of gold and other precious metals was not strong, and their eyes turned to a commodity of great commercial value - the strange feathers of the dodo.
The rare brown feathers of the dodo became a hot commodity in the world market at that time, attracting the attention of countless merchants.
However, despite the fact that the dodo does not taste ideal, has a bitter smell and is difficult to digest, this has not stopped humans from hunting it wildly.
Driven by profit, humans ignore the taste of dodos and are still keen to chase their meat and feathers.
In the decades that followed, the dodo population in Mauritius suffered an unprecedented catastrophe.
In the beginning, the dodo was not much of a threat in the eyes of the locals, and could even be easily approached and fed.
And this docile character has become their Achilles' heel.
The hungry Portuguese were so happy that they enjoyed it as a delicacy.
In this way, under the greedy minions, the once peaceful and peaceful dodo gradually lost its habitat until it disappeared completely.
In the past, the most abundant bird in the world - the North American passenger pigeon
The North American passenger pigeon was once one of the most common birds in the world, at one point reaching 5 billion individuals, but in just a hundred years, this beautiful creature has mysteriously disappeared.
The fate of the North American passenger pigeon began in the 17th century, when European colonists first arrived in the land and were struck by its spectacle.
When autumn comes, millions of passenger pigeons form huge flocks, covering the sun like dark clouds.
For Europeans who have just arrived in the New World, it is a natural wonder that has never been seen before.
Against this background, there was a strong interest in the passenger pigeon and hunting for it began.
At first, this didn't have much of an impact, as each flock provided enough food for people to enjoy.
It has been recorded that European immigrants used a wide variety of hunting and killing tools, ranging from simple shotguns to intricate nets.
There are also people who train hunting dogs to cooperate with humans in hunting.
However, over time, as Europeans expanded further and the demand for meat grew, the killing of passenger pigeons in large quantities became the norm.
This overfishing has led to a rapid decline in the number of passenger pigeons, and at the same time has disrupted the ecological balance of passenger pigeons.
"Half-length horse" zebra donkey
In the savannah of southern Africa, there is a strange and rare creature, which has black and white stripes like a zebra and gray fur like a horse, which is the "half-horse" zebra donkey.
This creature has a strong body and powerful hooves, and is able to run fast, and is known as the "knight of the steppe".
It has been recorded that spotted asses can run at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour and are one of the most adept ungulates.
It is also very alert and intelligent, making it ideal for housekeeping and even being tamed to pull a carry.
They feed mainly on fresh grasses, and sometimes they also taste the bark of trees, new shoots or wild fruits to enrich their diet.
Day or night, spotted donkeys spend more than 60% of their time looking for food.
Although there was not much interest in humans, the delicious meat contained in the spotted donkey soon became one of the sources of protein that the local tribes relied on to sustain themselves.
Indigenous hunters occasionally hunted spotted asses, processing their meat and fur in simple and primitive ways to supplement their daily food consumption or exchange for goods.
However, by the beginning of the 19th century, with the continuous influx of European colonizers, the fate of the spotted donkey changed dramatically.
European traders and hunters carried advanced hunting rifles and trapping equipment to hunt spotted asses on a large scale.
Some of them dried their meat to make dried meat and exported it in bulk to the rest of the world, others were fascinated by the bright fur of the donkey and skinned it for decoration or to make household items, while others transported the captured donkey alive to European zoos for display as eye-catching novelties.
In just a few decades, the number of spotted asses has plummeted and is on the verge of extinction.
It wasn't until 1883 that the last spotted donkey quietly passed away at the Amsterdam Zoo, announcing the species' permanent extinction from nature.
Tragedy under the lure of heavy money: the extinction of the great puffin
The Great Puffin is a bird that lives in icy waters and has a unique appearance and Xi.
However, driven by the greedy desires of humans, this creature gradually went to extinction.
You must know that although the great puffin is huge, its wings have completely degenerated, and it has lost the ability to fly.
This unique physiological trait makes them unable to escape when they are in danger, making them more vulnerable to human or other predators.
This, combined with their docile temperament and weak attack power, also made them a delicacy for early colonists.
According to the researchers, the great puffin is widely distributed and its habitat is mainly near the cold islands and coastlines of the Arctic, and it has a high degree of adaptability and survival.
However, it is precisely these characteristics that make the great puffin a craving.
Historically, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Europeans discovered and gradually began to harvest large quantities of puffins, mainly because of their excellent taste, rich in high-quality protein fats and feathers that can withstand harsh winters.
These resources and treasures from the ocean inspire the greedy nature of human beings.
Soon after, the "aristocratic food" puffin swept all over European society, and the market was in short supply.
Over time, the population of the great puffin has declined dramatically as mass hunting occurs.
Although scientists have been warning people for hundreds of years to stop killing great puffins, the quest for wealth continues.
Finally, at the end of the 19th century, the last great puffin was brutally murdered, marking the complete disappearance of this mysterious creature from the face of the earth.