The earth was formed around 4.5 billion years ago. The initiation of life happened 3 billion years ago when bacteria became the first living organism. Later on, evolution blessed the planet with various species of microorganisms, plants, animals, fungi, and of course human beings. But fossils indicate that organisms which may have existed a very long time ago may not exist today. They must have gotten extinct by some natural cause or human interventions. The factors responsible for their extinction may include loss of habitat, degradation of favorable environment, over exploitation or evolutionary problems. Lately human interference with the wildlife and environment has led to the extinction and endangerment of various species. Extinction of certain animals may affect the human race in some form or the other in the long run. Lets us discuss about the ten important extinct animals.
· WESTERN AFRICAN BLACK RHINO
The western African black rhino (Dicerous bicornis longipes) officially became extinct in the year 2011. It is one the three subspecies of Black Rhino that became extinct. The Rhino was hunted for its horns, which was extremely valued in the black market. It was also used in the traditional Chinese medicine. The two horned animal had very poor eyesight and was unable to locate anything at a distance more than 30 meters. They usually rely on the local bird to indentify incoming danger. Since they couldn’t see well, god gifted them with strong senses of smell and hearing. This speedy animal could run at a speed of 55km/h and change its direction quickly and efficiently. Many attempts were made to conserve and revive the animal. The western African black rhino had already been extinct for almost 5 years before it was officially declared extinct.
WOOLLY MAMMOTH
The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) lived about 2.5 million to 11 thousand years ago during the Pleistocane era. With much shorter ears than that of the modern elephants, the male Woolly elephant were 9 to 11 feet tall and weigh around 600kg. The probably got extinct in the Holocane epoch or the ice age about 10,500 years ago. The first skeleton of a mammoth was discovered in the 1799. The mammoth were extinct 10 thousand years ago but a few mammoths supposedly lived in the Wrange Islands till 1650 BCE.
- SABER TOOTHED TIGER
Smilodon commonly known as the saber toothed tiger, lived in the pine forest, grasslands and shrubby areas of North and South America in the Pleistocane era. The tiger became extinct around 10,000 years ago in the Quatenary extinction event. They fed on large herbivorous animals like camels, horses, young mammoth and ground sloth. Its extinction is associated with the extinction of a larger herbivorous animals and emergence of small and nimble ones. The canines of the saber toothed tiger could grow up to eight inches, allowing them to insert it deep into its prey.
- QUAGGA
The scientific name of Quagga is Equus quagga quagga and these are extinct subspecies of Zebra. Originally native to South Africa quagga went extinct in 1883 because of their merciless hunting for meat and their skin. Quagga was used by the locals as guard because it would attack the trespassers. Quaggas were considered tame, domesticate and the most docile zebras. The herbivores animal had a white tail, sandy brown coat and bright black colored patched on its front body. It weighed 250-300 and lived a life almost 20 to 40 years long.
- IRISH ELK
Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus) got extinct as a result of its own evolution. It was the largest deer to habitat on earth, and was seen in Europe and Asia around half a million years ago. They were 7 feet tall at the shoulder, their antlers were 12 feet across and they weighed around 40 kg. The deer were hunted mainly by the cave lions in groups. Irish Elk were herbivores and ate grasses, leaves and fruits. The animal finally became extinct 8000 years ago because its antlers evolved to become so large that it could not hold its weight over its head. Other reason were environmental changes and hunting by humans.
- TASMANIAN TIGER
Also known as thylacines ( Thylacinus cynocephalus), Tasmanian tiger were the largest carnivorous marsupials which were last seen in 1930’s. These are named so because of the stripes on its lower back. Weighing up to 30 kg they fed on kangaroos, wombats, birds and small animals. The tiger preferred to live in wetlands, dry eucalyptus forests and grasslands and were native to Australia. Ruthless hunting, destruction of its habitat and introduction to diseases led the Tasmanian tiger towards extinction. It is right to say that Tasmanian tiger were another victim of human interventions. In order to conserve the animal, thylacine were captivated but the last known thylacine named ‘Benjamin’, living in the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, died on 7th September 1936.
- PASSENGER PIGEON
The scientific name of passenger pigeon is Ectopistes migratorius. It was endemic to North America. The last passenger pigeon aged 29 died on September 1, 1914 in the Cinncinnati Zoo. People use to hunt a large number of passenger pigeons and consume them fondly. The pigeons were considered menace to agriculture and hence were frequently shot. In the 18th century various parts of its body were used to medicate various illnesses like headache, stomach ache, dysentery and throat pain. Its features were also used for making the bed sheets. The passenger pigeons were known for its speed and could fly at a speed of 60 mph.
- DODO
Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a flightless bird native to the islands of Muritius. The bird was first discovered in 1507 and became extinct in 1681 due to human activities. Before being discovered by humans Dodo had no predators and had an average life span of 10 to 30 years. People were so fascinated to see Dodo that their specimens were taken Europe and the east. They were 3 feet tall, weigh around 25 kg and they use to eat fruits, seeds, nuts. The habitat loss, over harvesting of bird, and becoming prey of other newly introduced animals forced the bird to go extinct.
- PYRENEAN EBEX
The Pyrenean Ebex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) was a species of wild goat endemic to Cantabrian Mountains, Southern France, and the northern Pyrenees. Their habitat was rocky areas. There was a point when their population was more than 50,000 which dropped to only 100 in the 1990’s and finally reached its extinction in 2000. Their inability to fight with other domestic and wild animals, becoming vulnerable to diseases and large scale hunting became causes of its extinction. They preferred living in rocky areas but they also lived in areas where trees are scattered between other things. The gender of the Ebex could be differentiated by their horns. The male had large, thick horns, curving outwards and backwards, and then vice versa, while the female had short cylindrical horn. It was an herbivorous animal and could live for around 16 years.
- ATLAS BEAR
Atlas bear or the African bear (Ursus arctos crowtheri) were a species of brown bear native to Atlas mountain of North America ( Morocco to Libya). There is mixed theory regarding their diet. Some say they were herbivorous while the others suggest that since the bears in the present times are omnivorous, Atlas bear was also the same. This 9 feet bear became extinct in 1890 due to over hunting and use of modern fire arms. The average lifespan of the bear was more than 30 years.
