14 Animals That Were Driven to Extinction By Humans

For all of the triumphant knowledge of humanity, for all our myriad accomplishments (and there are a bunch), the rampant reproduction and unadulterated success of people hasn’t worked out great for Mother Earth. The skies grow cloudy with pollution, the glaciers are sweating like ice cubes in a glass, and the planet’s other inhabitants are going extinct 1,000 times faster than they would be if humans weren’t in the picture. In fact, Earth’s animals might be getting the brunt of humankind’s collective recklessness. If you needed proof of that fact, just take a look at some of the creatures that humanity has already wiped off the map.

1. Caribbean Monk Seal

At one point, early explorers to the area referred to the Caribbean Monk Seal as the sea wolf. Unfortunately, the sea wolf couldn’t compete when man started overfishing its food and hunting the species for oil. The last known sighting of a Caribbean Monk Seal was in 1952 just outside Nicaragua. In 1989, a search was initiated for the creature. After five years and no luck, the Caribbean Monk Seal was declared extinct.