Animals: those that are not, and those that will not be. Animals: those that are not, and those that will not be Chinese river dolphin

Extinction is a natural process: typical species become endangered within 10 million years of their appearance on Earth. But today, when the planet is facing a number of serious problems, such as overpopulation, pollution, climate change, etc., the loss of species is happening thousands of times faster than it would be natural.

It is difficult to know exactly when certain species will disappear from the wild, but it is safe to say that thousands of animal species become extinct every year.

In this article, we offer a look at the recently extinct animals that we will miss the most. From the Javan tiger and the Caribbean monk seal to the Mauritian dodo (or dodo), here are 25 extinct animals we won't see again.

25. Madagascar pygmy hippopotamus

Once widespread on the island of Madagascar, the Madagascar pygmy hippo was a close relative of the modern hippo, albeit much smaller.

Initial estimates suggested that the species had gone extinct for about a thousand years, but new evidence has shown that these hippos may have lived in wild nature up until the 1970s.

24. Chinese river dolphin

Known by many other names such as "baiji", "yangtze river dolphin", "white-finned dolphin", or "yangtze dolphin", the Chinese river dolphin was freshwater dolphin who lived in the Yangtze River in China.

The population of Chinese river dolphins declined sharply by the 1970s as China began to make heavy use of the river for fishing, transportation, and hydroelectric power. The last known surviving Chinese river dolphin, Qiqi, died in 2002.

23. Long-eared kangaroo

Discovered in 1841, the long-eared kangaroo is an extinct species of the kangaroo family that lived in southeastern Australia.

It was a small animal, slightly larger and slimmer than its living relative, the red hare kangaroo. The last known specimen of this species was a female taken in August 1889 in New South Wales.

22. Javan tiger

Once common on the Indonesian island of Java, the Javan tiger was a very small subspecies of the tiger. During the 20th century, the population of the island increased many times, leading to massive clearing of forests, which were turned into arable land and rice fields.

Habitat pollution and poaching have also contributed to the extinction of this species. The Javan tiger has been considered extinct since 1993.

21. Steller's cow

Steller's cow (or sea cow, or cabbage) is an extinct herbivorous marine mammal that once abounded in the North Pacific.

This was largest representative a detachment of sirens, which includes its closest living relatives - the dugong and the manatee. Hunting Steller cows for meat, skin and fat has led to their complete extermination within just 27 years since the discovery of the species.

20. Taiwan Clouded Leopard

The Taiwanese clouded leopard was once endemic to Taiwan and a subspecies of the clouded leopard, a rare Asian cat thought to be an evolutionary link between large and small cats.

Excessive logging has destroyed the animal's natural habitat, and the species was declared extinct in 2004 after 13,000 camera traps showed no sign of Taiwan's clouded leopards.

19. Red gazelle

The red-headed gazelle is an extinct species of gazelle believed to have lived in the rainfall-rich mountainous regions of North Africa.

This species is known from only three individuals acquired from the markets in Algeria and Oman, north of Algiers, in late XIX century. These copies are kept in museums in Paris and London.

18. Chinese paddlefish

Sometimes also called "psephur", the Chinese paddlefish was one of the largest freshwater fish. Uncontrolled overfishing and destruction of natural habitats put the species at risk of extinction in the 1980s.

The last confirmed sighting of this fish was in January 2003 in the Yangtze River, China, and the species has since been considered extinct.

17. Labrador eider

The Labrador Eider is believed by some scientists to have been the first endemic bird species. North America, which disappeared after the Columbus Exchange.

It was already a rare bird before the arrival of European settlers, and became extinct shortly thereafter. The females had gray color, while the plumage of males was black and white. The Labrador Eider had an elongated head with small beady eyes and a strong beak.

16. Pyrenean ibex

Once endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, the Iberian ibex was one of the four subspecies of the Spanish ibex.

In the Middle Ages, the wild goat abounded in the Pyrenees, however, the population rapidly declined in the 19th and 20th centuries due to uncontrolled hunting. In the second half of the 20th century, only a small population survived in this region, and in 2000 the last representative of this species was found dead.

15. Mauritian dodo, or dodo

is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius in Indian Ocean. According to subfossil remains, Mauritian dodos were about a meter tall and may have weighed up to 21 kg.

The appearance of the Mauritian dodos can only be judged from drawings, images and written sources, therefore, the life-time appearance of this bird is not known for certain. Dodo in popular culture is used as a symbol of extinction and the gradual disappearance of the species.

14. Orange toad

Orange toads were small, up to 5 cm long, toads that used to be found in a small high mountain region. north of the city Monteverde, Costa Rica.

The last living individual of this animal was discovered in May 1989. Since then, no signs have been recorded confirming their existence in nature. The sudden disappearance of this beautiful frog, may have been caused by a fungus of the class Chytridiomycetes and extensive habitat loss.

13. Choiseul pigeon

Sometimes also referred to as the crested thick-billed pigeon, the Choiseul pigeon is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to the island of Choiseul in the Solomon Islands, although there are unconfirmed reports that members of this species may have lived on some nearby islands.

The last documented sighting of a Choiseul pigeon was in 1904. It is believed that these birds became extinct due to predatory extermination by cats and dogs.

12. Cameroonian black rhinoceros

As a subspecies of the critically endangered black rhinoceros, the Cameroonian black rhino was once widespread across many African countries, including Angola, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Chad, Rwanda, Botswana, Zambia and others, but irresponsible hunting and poaching reduced the population of this amazing animal by 2000 to just a few individuals. In 2011, this subspecies of rhino was declared extinct.

11. Japanese wolf

Also known as the Ezo wolf, the Japanese wolf is an extinct subspecies of common wolf, which once inhabited the coast of Northeast Asia. Its closest relatives were North American wolves rather than Asiatic wolves.

The Japanese wolf was extirpated from the Japanese island of Hokkaido during the Meiji Restoration, when American-style agricultural reforms were accompanied by the use of strychnine bait to kill predators that posed a threat to livestock.

10 Caribbean Monk Seal

Nicknamed "the sea wolf", the Caribbean monk seal was close-up view seals inhabiting the Caribbean. The overhunting of seals for blubber and the depletion of their food sources are the main causes of the species' extinction.

The last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal dates back to 1952. These animals were not seen again until 2008, when the species was officially declared extinct after a five-year search for survivors that ended in nothing.

9 Eastern Cougar

The eastern cougar is an extinct species of cougar that once lived in northeastern North America. The eastern cougar was one of the subspecies of the North American cougar, a large cat that inhabited most USA and Canada.

Eastern cougars were declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011.

8. Great Razorbill

The wingless auk was large flightless bird from the auk family, which became extinct in the middle of the 19th century. Once widespread throughout the North Atlantic, from Spain, Iceland, Norway and the UK to Canada and Greenland, this beautiful bird has been extirpated by man for its down, which was used to make pillows.

7. Tarpan

Also known as the Eurasian wild horse, the tarpan is an extinct subspecies of the wild horse that once lived across much of Europe and parts of Asia.

Since tarpans were herbivores, their habitat was continuously decreasing due to the growing civilization of the Eurasian continent. Combined with the incredible extermination of these animals for their meat, this led to their complete disappearance at the beginning of the 20th century.

6. Cape Lion

An extinct subspecies of the lion, the Cape lion lived along the Cape Peninsula at the southern tip of the African continent.

This majestic big cat disappeared very quickly immediately after the appearance of Europeans on the continent. Dutch and English colonists and hunters simply exterminated this species of animals at the end of the 19th century.

5 Falkland Fox

Also known as the varra or Falkland wolf, the Falkland fox was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands.

This endemic of the canine family became extinct in 1876, becoming the first known canid to become extinct in historical times. This animal is believed to have lived in burrows, and its diet consisted of birds, larvae and insects.

4. Reunion giant tortoise

Endemic to Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, the Reunion giant tortoise was a large tortoise up to 1.1 meters long.

These animals were very slow, curious and not afraid of people, which made them easy prey for the first inhabitants of the island, who exterminated turtles in huge numbers - as food for people, as well as pigs. The Réunion giant tortoise became extinct in the 1840s.

3. Kiyoa

The kyoea was a large, up to 33 cm long, Hawaiian bird that became extinct around 1859.

Kiyoa was a rare bird even before the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands by Europeans. Even the native Hawaiians did not seem to know about the existence of this bird.

Only 4 specimens of this beautifully colored bird have been preserved in different museums. The reason for their extinction is still unknown.

2. Megaladapis

Informally known as koala lemurs, megaladapis are an extinct genus giant lemurs, once inhabiting the island of Madagascar.

To clear the place, the first settlers of the island burned the local dense forests, which were natural environment habitats of these lemurs, which, combined with over-hunting of the animal, has greatly contributed to the extinction of these slow-moving animals.

1. Quagga

The quagga is an extinct subspecies of the savannah zebra that lived in South Africa until the 19th century.

Since these animals were fairly easy to track down and kill, they were hunted en masse by the Dutch colonists (and later the Boers) for their meat and skins.

Only one single quagga was photographed during his lifetime (see photo), and only 23 skins of these animals have survived to this day.

As the well-known proverb says: until the thunder breaks out, the peasant will not cross himself. It is the best suited to the current situation in the global ecology. It is over the past 50 years that mankind has become especially active on the way to an ecological catastrophe.
A total of 30% of all known resources on the planet this moment already used up. Many natural resources, as well as reserves clean water and food are on the verge of exhaustion. Meanwhile, the world's population continues to grow steadily. In the last 50 years alone, mankind has destroyed 90% of all world stocks of large commercial fish.
The oceans and its inhabitants.
22% of known ocean fishing areas are completely depleted or overexploited, and another 44% are on the verge of depletion. Totally agree last years in the northern part of the Atlantic, commercial stocks of cod, hake, sea bass and flounders were reduced by 95%. Mining research commercial fish, published in 2006 in the journal Science, grimly predict that if fishing continues at its current pace, the entire fishing industry in the world will collapse in 2048 because there will simply be no more fish left in the world.

But overfishing is terrible not so much in itself as in its monstrous consequences. Fishing out edible species fish, 27 million tons of other living creatures are thrown back into the sea every year from the nets - as a rule, already in a non-viable state. Food chains are disrupted, as a result of which, before our eyes, entire species of birds and mammals, the main diet of which was the same fish, are dying out. In addition, the seabed in many areas of the ocean is so plowed by trawls that nothing can live on it.

Coral reefs are the most diverse water system on Earth, suffering from overfishing, pollution, epidemic diseases and rising temperatures. At least 19% of corals are already gone, in the next 20 years will be gone another 15%. And if no action is taken, then in 100 years there will not be a single coral left on the planet.

Forests and freshwater lakes.
Over the past 50 years, man has destroyed 70% of the world's forests. And 30% of those that still remain are fragmented and degrading. Cutting down in them goes at a speed of almost 130 square kilometers per year. Only in the last 10 years the area forest areas in the world has decreased by 1.4 million square kilometers. For comparison: the area of all forests in Russia is 8.5 million square kilometers. Top speed deforestation is now observed in developing tropical countries such as Nigeria, Mexico, India, Thailand, Laos, Congo and others.

Why is deforestation dangerous? First of all, the impact on the atmosphere and the strengthening greenhouse effect. About a third of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions come from deforestation. Through nutrition from the roots and subsequent evaporation through the leaves, it is the forests that provide a stable transfer of moisture from the oceans to the centers of the continents to fill rivers, swamps and groundwater. There will be no forests - the central parts of the continents will turn into deserts.

More than 45,000 lakes have been destroyed along with forests.

Animal world.
Over the past half century, man has destroyed a quarter of all known species birds, and 11% of the remaining are on the verge of extinction. Just think about it: 40% of all currently known organisms on the planet belong to the class of endangered. Current pace extinction according to various estimates from 10 to 100 times higher than in any of the previous periods mass extinction in the history of the earth. There are cases when the extinction of species occurs literally in a matter of years - for example, Steller's cow. This mammal of the siren squad was discovered in 1741, however, in less than 30 years, already in 1768, due to the predatory hunt for tasty meat, these animals completely disappeared.

Sturgeons, which appeared more than 250 million years ago, managed to outlive the dinosaurs, although they were clearly inferior in strength to the largest creatures in the world. But today, one of the oldest fish on the planet is on the verge of extinction - 5 out of 6 sturgeon species in Ukraine are endangered.

The situation is so critical that on May 24, a large-scale Animal Planet campaign was launched in Ukraine in order to attract public attention to this problem, together with World Fund nature (WWF) and the Ukrainian charitable foundation Happy Paw - "Sturgeon Calls for Help". By common efforts, it is possible to save sturgeons from the fate of a dozen other animals that have disappeared without a trace over the past hundred years.

Three types of tigers

In the 20th century, three species of tigers disappeared at once. Javanese was one of the smallest subspecies - males weighed no more than 140 kg, and females - up to 115 kg, while, for comparison, their Amur relatives reach an average of 250 kg. But no matter how small the skin of a tiger, it is still of great value, therefore, due to poaching, by the 1950s, the population was reduced to 25 individuals, and in the mid-1980s, the last Javan tiger died.

According to one theory, the Javan and Bali tigers were the same species, but after the Ice Age they became isolated on two neighboring islands. This theory is also supported by appearance Balinese predators - they were also one of the smallest representatives of the species. The first tiger was killed in 1911, the animals were officially recognized as extinct already in 1937 - it took only 26 years to completely exterminate the subspecies.

Caspian (Turanian, Transcaucasian) tiger, which lived in Central Asia, Iran and the Caucasus, was much larger and more massive than both the Balinese and Javanese subspecies, but this did not save him from the same fate. During the industrial development of Central Asia, this predator was completely destroyed. For this purpose, even entire battalions were organized, and by 1954 not a single individual remained.

Source: wikipedia.org

Two types of rhinos

The twenty-first century turned out to be the last for the two subspecies of rhinos. The black rhinoceros of West Africa, which lived mainly in Cameroon, completely disappeared in 2011. In 1930, he was taken under special protection, but such protective measures for poachers did not become a stop signal. The horns of these animals are too highly valued on the black market due to healing properties, a myth and delusion that have no scientific evidence. Wealthy Arabs ordered dagger handles made of rhinoceros horn - this was considered a sign of wealth. Therefore, the extermination of animals has reached incredible proportions, especially in the 1970s. Considering that pregnancy in females lasts 16 months and only one cub is born, the population simply did not have time to recover. In the same 2011, the Vietnamese rhino, a subspecies of the Javanese, was officially recognized as extinct, living in Indochina (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia) and also becoming a victim of poaching.

Source: wikipedia.org

marsupial wolf

The most famous marsupials are kangaroos and koalas, some may have heard of wombats and opossums. If it were not for the aggressive intervention of man, unique marsupial predators would exist today in nature - the Tasmanian wolf, or thylacine. Their historical habitat is mainland Australia and New Zealand, later they were driven out by imported dingoes. Thylacines settled on the island of Tasmania, but even there the predators were not allowed to live in peace: in the early 30s of the 19th century, mass trapping and shooting of these animals began because of their alleged ferocity and bloodthirstiness, as well as because of the harm that they caused to sheep herds. Later, after the last individual died in 1936, scientists found that the jaws of the Tasmanian wolves were poorly developed, so they could not physically hunt sheep. In this regard, a reward of 1.25 million Australian dollars was awarded in 2005 for the capture of a live marsupial wolf, but over the past 12 years, there has been no evidence that thylacines miraculously survived in the dense forests of the island.

Source: wikipedia.org

Taiwan Clouded Leopard

The Taiwan clouded leopard is endemic to Taiwan (a species that lives exclusively on this island), an incredibly beautiful animal that looks like an ocelot, only larger. The unusual coloration made the skins of these predators a desirable trophy for the inhabitants of local tribes - such clothes emphasized the high social status. Moreover, killing a smoky one was considered a feat, and the hunter himself, who returned with valuable prey, was called a hero. Since everyone wants to become a hero and win the respect of society, Taiwanese clouded leopards were completely destroyed. After 1983, despite all the tricks and night vision cameras, scientists have not been able to detect a single individual.

Source: wikipedia.org

Chinese river dolphin

Dolphins are called one of the smartest creatures on the planet, and they regularly confirm this title. In ancient China, dolphins were revered as river deities and hunting them was taboo. When the first individual was officially discovered in 1918 in the freshwater lake Dongtinghu of China, it was possible to predict that the history of these mammals was coming to an end. Massive poaching in a matter of decades reduced the population to a critical level and, in addition, forced the animals to change their habitat and populate areas unsuitable for habitation (for example, near a hydroelectric power station). As a result, already in 2007, the commission officially declared the Chinese river dolphins extinct.

The situation is so critical that on May 24, a large-scale Animal Planet campaign, together with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Happy Paw Ukrainian charitable foundation, “Sturgeon Calls for Help” was launched in Ukraine to attract public attention to this problem. By common efforts, it is possible to save sturgeons from the fate of a dozen other animals that have disappeared without a trace over the past hundred years.

Three types of tigers

According to one theory, the Javan and Bali tigers were the same species, but after the Ice Age they became isolated on two neighboring islands. The appearance of the Balinese predators also speaks in favor of this theory - they were also one of the smallest representatives of the species. The first tiger was killed in 1911, the animals were officially recognized as extinct already in 1937 - it took only 26 years to completely exterminate the subspecies.

The Caspian (Turanian, Transcaucasian) tiger, which lived in Central Asia, Iran and the Caucasus, was much larger and more massive than both the Balinese and Javanese subspecies, but this did not save him from the same fate. During the industrial development of Central Asia, this predator was completely destroyed. For this purpose, even entire battalions were organized, and by 1954 not a single individual remained.

Source: wikipedia.org

Two types of rhinos

The twenty-first century turned out to be the last for the two subspecies of rhinos. The black rhinoceros of West Africa, which lived mainly in Cameroon, completely disappeared in 2011. In 1930, he was taken under special protection, but such protective measures for poachers did not become a stop signal. The horns of these animals are too highly valued on the black market due to their healing properties, a myth and misconception that does not have any scientific evidence. Wealthy Arabs ordered dagger handles made of rhinoceros horn - this was considered a sign of wealth. Therefore, the extermination of animals has reached incredible proportions, especially in the 1970s. Considering that pregnancy in females lasts 16 months and only one cub is born, the population simply did not have time to recover. In the same 2011, the Vietnamese rhino, a subspecies of the Javanese, was officially recognized as extinct, living in Indochina (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia) and also becoming a victim of poaching.

Source: wikipedia.org

marsupial wolf

The most famous marsupials are kangaroos and koalas, some may have heard of wombats and opossums. If it were not for the aggressive intervention of man, unique marsupial predators would exist today in nature - the Tasmanian wolf, or thylacine. Their historical habitat is mainland Australia and New Zealand, later they were forced out from there by the introduced dingo dogs. Thylacines settled on the island of Tasmania, but even there the predators were not allowed to live in peace: in the early 30s of the 19th century, mass trapping and shooting of these animals began because of their alleged ferocity and bloodthirstiness, as well as because of the harm that they caused to sheep herds. Later, after the last individual died in 1936, scientists found that the jaws of the Tasmanian wolves were poorly developed, so they could not physically hunt sheep. In this regard, a reward of 1.25 million Australian dollars was awarded in 2005 for the capture of a live marsupial wolf, but over the past 12 years, there has been no evidence that thylacines miraculously survived in the dense forests of the island.

Source: wikipedia.org

Taiwan Clouded Leopard

The Taiwan clouded leopard is endemic to Taiwan (a species that lives exclusively on this island), an incredibly beautiful animal that looks like an ocelot, only larger. The unusual coloration made the skins of these predators a desirable trophy for the inhabitants of local tribes - such clothes emphasized their high social status. Moreover, killing a smoky one was considered a feat, and the hunter himself, who returned with valuable prey, was called a hero. Since everyone wants to become a hero and win the respect of society, the Taiwan clouded leopards were completely exterminated. After 1983, despite all the tricks and night vision cameras, scientists have not been able to detect a single individual.

Source: wikipedia.org

Chinese river dolphin

Over the past ten thousand years, human impact on environment led to the disappearance of many beautiful animals. In this article, you will learn facts about ten interesting creatures that have already disappeared. Animals died out en masse in two stages, the first was about ten thousand years ago, and the second - five hundred years ago. Many small animals died out each time, but incredible large creatures attract attention much more. Approximate date of its death is added to each extinct species.

These extinct giants once lived throughout northern Europe. They have little in common with currently existing moose species, which is why they are more commonly referred to as "giant deer". These animals could reach a two-meter span at the shoulders and weighed seven centners. They had large horns several meters wide. They appeared four hundred thousand years ago and disappeared five thousand years ago. Most likely, the hunters became the reason. However, it is also possible that the disappearance of ice led to the emergence of other plants, which caused a shortage of essential minerals. For example, for the growth of such impressive horns, a lot of calcium is required.

Quagga, 1883

Half zebra, half horse, this creature was a subspecies of the zebra that appeared about two hundred thousand years ago. They died out in the nineteenth century. Quaggas lived in South Africa and got their name because of the sound they produced, according to the onomatopic principle. They were destroyed in 1883 in order to acquire land for agriculture.

Japanese wolf, 1905

These wolves lived on several Japanese islands. This was rarest species from the family, only a meter in length and with a small shoulder span. When rabies appeared on the islands, the wolf population began to decline dramatically. They have become more aggressive towards people. As a result of deforestation and subsequent loss of their habitat, they came into contact with people more often, and they began to be purposefully destroyed until the last wolf was killed in 1905.

Giant penguin, 1852

These creatures were very similar to modern penguins. They swam well, accumulated fat for warmth, lived in large colonies and formed pairs for life. They had large curved beaks. Penguins could grow almost a meter tall and lived in the north Atlantic until the nineteenth century. People began to hunt them to stuff pillows with valuable feathers. Then they were caught to be used as bait for fishing, as well as for eating. When they became rare, museums and collectors wanted to collect stuffed animals, and so the penguins died out completely.

Turtles from Pinta Island, 2012

This subspecies of giant tortoises lived in the Galapagos. Turtles have been hunted since the nineteenth century, and in the fifties of the twentieth century, their habitat was destroyed. People tried to save the disappearing turtles, but by 1971 only one male remained, who was nicknamed Lonely George. Despite attempts to cross him with representatives of other species, no eggs appeared, and he himself died in 2012. He was the last of his kind.

Steller's sea cow, 1768

They were huge herbivores. marine mammals, similar to seals. They were distinguished by giant sizes: they could reach nine meters in length. They were discovered by Georg Wilhelm Steller, but thirty years after the discovery they were already completely destroyed. This is because these animals were very calm and lived in shallow water. Their meat was eaten, the fat was used for food, and the skin was used for sheathing boats.

Smilodon, 10,000 BC

These saber-toothed cats lived in Northern and South America in the end ice age. They originated about two and a half million years ago. Large creatures could reach four hundred kilograms in weight, three meters in length and one and a half meters in shoulder span. Despite the fact that they were called tigers, they rather resembled bears. They had short and powerful legs, not designed for fast movement. The impressive incisors could reach thirty centimeters in length, but were fragile enough and were used to bite through the soft skin of the captured victim. Smilodons could open their mouths to one hundred and twenty degrees, but their bite was rather weak. Smilodons hunted large animals: bison, deer and small mammoths. It was difficult for them to catch smaller animals. The disappearance of smilodons is associated with the appearance in these regions of people who destroyed many species of animals.

Woolly mammoth, 2000 BC

Woolly mammoths lived in regions arctic tundra in the northern hemisphere. They could reach several meters in height and weighed six tons, the same as modern African elephants, although biologically they are closer to Asian ones. Unlike the latter, mammoths were covered with brown, black or red hair. In addition, they had short tails, which protected them from frostbite. Woolly mammoths had long tusks with which they fought. They were hunted by people, in addition, they used mammoth meat for food. However, it is most likely that these animals disappeared due to climate change at the end of the Ice Age. The retreat of the ice led to the disappearance of their habitat, and then the hunters completed what was happening. Most mammoths were already extinct ten thousand years ago, but small populations remained in remote regions for another six thousand years.

Moa, 1400

Moas were huge birds unable to fly. They lived in New Zealand. They could reach almost four meters in height and weighed two hundred and thirty kilograms. Despite the incredible growth, the structure of the spine of birds suggests that most of the time they stretched their necks forward. Thanks to such a neck, they most likely produced low vibrating sounds. Moas were hunted by other birds, as well as representatives of the Maori tribe. In less than a hundred years after the discovery, people completely destroyed these birds.

Tasmanian tiger, 1936

The Tasmanian tiger was the largest marsupial predator of our era, appearing four million years ago. They died out in the thirties of the last century due to the fault of farmers who destroyed them due to the fact that the animals allegedly killed sheep and chickens. Besides, Agriculture reduced their habitat, and the spread of dogs led to the emergence of various diseases. Amazing creatures lived in Tasmania, Australia and New Guinea, they could reach almost two meters in length from head to tail. Tasmanian tigers were at the top of the food chain and hunted kangaroos, possums and birds at night. Their jaws could open one hundred and twenty degrees, and their stomachs stretched for huge amount food, which allowed them to survive in sparsely populated regions. These were extremely unusual marsupials, since both females and males had a pouch. The latter used it to protect their genitals while running in the grass.

Worth remembering

Many are not included in this list. amazing creatures, such as Javanese and Caspian tigers or cave lions. Of course, dodos also deserve mention. It is a tragic fact that the activities of mankind have led to the disappearance of such a large number beautiful animals. It's terrible that this continues to this day. Everyone knows the price of hunting, but people continue to destroy animals. One can only hope that the list will not be replenished soon with many other varieties of animals.