Info on Extinct Animals
Thylacine: Known as the Tasmanian tiger, it was the biggest carnivore’s marsupial living close to modern times. The reason it became extinct was because of over hunting. The Thylacine was the last member in its genus which was named Thylacinus. Before European colonization on the Australian continent, the Thylacinus was very rare, but on Tasmania it still lived. The Thylacine was one of the only two animals to have a pouch in both male and female. Many reports of Thylacine still exist but none can be proved.
Heath Hen: The Heath Hen was a large North American bird which belonged to the grouse family. The Heath Hen Lived as northern as New Hampshire to as southern as Northern Virginia. Heath Hen was hunted by settlers a lot that the rumor is that the pilgrims had Heath Hen and not Wild Turkey. Due to intense hunting the Heath Hen population declined rapidly. By the 1870s the Heath Hen population had been driven to extinction in the mainland and around that there were 300 Heath Hens left on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. By the 1890 the population declined to 200-120 birds. In 1908 the ban of hunting Heath Hens allowed the population to grow to almost 2000 by the mid 1910s. But during 1916, a deadly winter, a destructive fire during mating season, inbreeding, a higher population of male Heath Hens compared to female Heath Hen, a sudden burst in population of a predatory bird named goshawks, and a disease called blackheads disease all played the role to kill the Heath Hen. After a last final recovery to 600, the Heath Hen population decreased to extinction. By the late 1900s the population of the Heath Hen was 70.
Quagga: The Quagga used to live in the Southern Africa’s Cape of Good Hope Province and southern part of the Orange Free State. The population used to be thriving in this area. The Quagga Used to have stripes in the front of the body and in the mid-section the stripes start to disappear and by the rear the body is plain brown. The Quagga was hunted to extinction because for its meat, hide, and to feed livestock. The last Quagga was probably shot around the 1870s. The last captive one died in the August, 12, 1883. The Quagga became extinct before it was realized it was a separate species than to other zebras.
Bubal Hartebeest: The original habitat Of the Bubal Hartebeest was Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Bubal Hartebeest was domesticated by Egyptians and the Bubal Hartebeest may have been a sacrificial animal for Egyptians. French people who were in Morocco shot them for fun. As an attempt to save the Bubal Hartebeest, many of them were tried to be saved in zoos. Last female died in a Paris zoo in 9, November, 1923. The Bubal Hartebeest was 4 feet tall at the shoulder. The Bubal Hartebeest had a long blackish tail, a reddish yellow colored body, and yellow eyes. The Bubal Hartebeests last habitat areas were southern Tunisia and Algeria. Even when no large herds were left for the French people to shoot at, some of these hunters went deep in the forests to shoot at the Bubal Hartebeest. There horns might have had mythical value since they have been found in the tombs of pharaohs. The Bubal Hartebeest lived in sub-desert steppe and semi forested habitats of North Africa. It was used as a food source for many ancient people. The Western Hartebeest is the closest living relative left. Hartebeests were on of the widest ranging antelopes, but now a lot of them are endangered.
Dusky Seaside Sparrow: The Dusky Seaside Sparrow lived along the St. Johns River and in Southern Florida in the Salt marshes of Merritt Island. In 1940 when DDT was sprayed on the marshes to control the mosquitoes is when the demise of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow began. Merritt Island was flooded with the idea to reduce the mosquitoes around Space Kennedy Center. The nesting grounds of the birds were destroyed and the population demised. This caused the population of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow to drop from 2000 to 600 breeding pairs. Then the marshes around the St. Johns River were drained due to making a highway. After a while the impact from pollution and pesticides took an enormous impact to these birds that in 1979 only 6 Dusky Seaside Sparrows were recorded and those were all males. The last recorded female was 1975. The species went extinct in 1987 and were declared extinct in 1990.
Tecopa pupfish: The Tecopa Pupfish was discovered in 1942 in Tecopa hot springs in California. The Tecopa is made of two lakes. The decline in the population began almost as soon as it was found. The northern and southern springs were canalized and boathouses built. Hotels and trailer parks were later added due to popularity of hot springs making more humans come in to there habitat. In 1981, the fish was delisted by United States Fish and Wildlife service and it was the first animal to become extinct in the United States under the Endangered Species Act which was made in 1973. The pelvic fins were small and sometime missing. The breeding males were bright blue with a black band and the females may have had 6-10 vertical stripes. The length of the fish was an inch. Their diet was blue green algae and some invertebrates. They reproduction rate was 2-10 generations a year and the amount depended on the temperature of the water. The surviving subspecies included the Saratoga Pupfish and the Armagosa Pupfish. Only one of the 12 varieties of pupfish are found in the United States not including the Tecopa Pupfish. The Tecopa Pupfish liked to live in hot salty pools and could not adapt to the swift flowing water. When the Mosquito Fish was introduced to the water, the Mosquito fish ate all the Tecopa Pupfish’s usual food and the Tecopa Pupfish themselves. The extinction of these animals could have been avoided, according to a previous secretary in the government. During the 1970s the government tried to find the Tecopa Pupfish but since none could have been found, the government had to declare the Tecopa Pupfish extinct. The bathhouse which started the extinction has gone bankrupt since then and has been deserted.
Caribbean Monk Seal: Caribbean Monk Seal was the only seal known to be native to the Caribbean Sea. When during the voyage when Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World in 1494, 8 seals were hunted for meat. The region where the Caribbean Monk Seal lived was soon colonized. As more humans came in to there territory they started exploiting the area for oil and sometimes for the Caribbean Monk Seal’s meat. During the 1950s it became extinct due to lack of food. The last reliable records of the Caribbean Monk Seals were of a small colony at Serranilla which can be found between Honduras and Jamaica. On June, 6, 2008 it was officially announced that Caribbean Monk Seal was extinct since none could be found in the 5 years of searching for them. It was the only Seal to disappear due to human causes. The Caribbean Monk Seal was a large seal and was around 1.8-2.7 m long. The seal had layers of fat around its neck and had brown fur which faded into a yellow- white color around the stomach.
“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. ”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
― Franklin D. Roosevelt