Joe Exclamation
The rampant reproduction of Mankind hasn’t worked out great for Mother Earth. The skies grow cloudy with pollution, the glaciers are sweating buckets and Earth’s animals are feeling the brunt of our collective recklessness. If you need proof, just take a look at these 10 creatures humanity has already wiped off the map.
1. Dodo Bird
Let’s start with the obvious; the poster child for extinct animals. The dodo hasn’t been spotted since 1662, when it was driven to extinction by both the sailors who discovered it and the invasive species they brought along with them.
2. Western Black Rhino
Intense poaching over the last several decades has seen this subspecies of rhinoceros eradicated. In 2011, the Western Black Rhino was officially declared extinct.
3. Bubal Hartebeest
In the 19th century, as the French army swept across Algeria, massive herds of Bubal Hartebeest were consumed by the troops. The species decreased over the course of the next hundreds years until it was declared extinct at the end of the 1930’s.
4. Quagga
As the Dutch began to overtake South Africa, this cousin of the plain zebra was hunted extensively to make room for domesticated animals. Though there was an attempt to save the quagga by keeping herds in zoos, the last one passed away in 1883.
5. Heath Hen
The Heath Hen were once so common that they roosted on the Boston Common in the early days of America. Some historians even believe it was heath hen, not turkey, eaten at the first Thanksgiving and were so popular that the Heath Hen, was all eaten up by 1932.
6. Giant Moa
For nearly 40,000 years, the Ostrich-like bird survived in New Zealand without incident. Then, the initial settlement of Polynesian explorers signaled the beginning of the end for the Giant Moa, which was hunted to extinction by the year 1500.
7. Passenger Pigeon
The passenger pigeon was known to migrate throughout North America for hundreds of years. It was known as a source of food for Native American hunters, a tradition that carried over into the nineteenth century when the Passenger Pigeon was eradicated. The last passenger pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo on September 1, 1914.
8. Steller’s Sea Cow
Often confused with mermaids, the extinct Steller’s Sea Cow could stretch up to 30 feet long and tip the scales up to 10 metric tons. Unfortunately, it was also sweet-natured and slow moving, which made it prime pickings for European explorers in 1741. In just 2 decades the animal had been exterminated.
9. Tasmanian Tiger
The Tasmanian tiger was one of two known species to have a pouch in both sexes. The dog-like animal was a tremendously successful hunter, making it a target for local farmers. That, and habitat destruction and disease helped drive the shy animal out of existence.
10. Tecopa Pupfish
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Tecopa Hot Springs gained favor among Californians as a travel destination. Bathhouses sprung up, the springs were expanded, and the pupfish’s habitat was changed irreversibly. The Tecopa pupfish was forced to move down river and mate with another species, becoming something altogether different.
Know of any other animals we missed?
Comment below!