Examining some of our Extinct Animal Species
Sometimes we do not think of all of the animals that have become extinct in just a short period of time. Often these animals may be very small fish or amphibians that we barely knew existed, but even large animals can be forced into extinction. In fact, over 800 animal species have become extinct in the last 500 years due to human interference.
In 1883 in the Amsterdam Zoo, the last Quagga died and sadly, people did not realize that this was the very last of the Quaggas. This animal, pictured above, looked similar to a Zebra and at that time it was thought that all Quaggas were Zebras (or all Zebras were Quaggas).
This animal was brown and white instead of black and white, and the stripes were only on the head, neck, and chest area however. Once the tragedy of the Quagga’s extinction was discovered people wondered how they could ever make the situation better. Now there is a project underway to try to bring the Quaggas back. The reason that it may be possible is because these animals are a subspecies of a Zebra group that still exists, and through selective breeding, it may be possible to once again have Quaggas in our world.
The Dodo is another animal that is now extinct due to interference by man. These birds were first sighted in 1505 but by 1680, they were already gone forever. Dodos were a species of large birds that could not fly, and they were not good runners either. Originally, they lived on the island of Mauritius where there was food and water, and no natural enemies. When people began to come to the island, they brought animals like dogs, rats, and pigs that destroyed the nests and caught the Dodos.
Other birds that were hunted to extinction include the Passenger Pigeon, and the beautifully coloured Carolina Parakeet. The Heath Hen is another now extinct bird that was once plentiful in America. James Audubon was one of the first to alert people to this animal’s low numbers in the wild due to over hunting. In the early 20th century, there were attempts to keep the species alive but the results were unsuccessful and the last Heath Hen died in 1932.
Another animal that is lost to us is the Tasmanian wolf, which was related to the kangaroos. This very interesting creature looked like a wolf with tiger markings across its back and a pouch for carrying its young. The dingo of Australia, sheep farmers and finally disease all contributed to the loss of this animal.
Steller’s Sea Cows were large ocean dwelling animals that were even bigger than the Manatee. In 1740, it is believed they were already perhaps only 1-2 thousand of these creatures in the wild. They were hunted for their hides and meat and became extinct during the next 30 years.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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