There are plenty of strange, beautiful, and altogether unusual animals living amongst us today, but a look through the annals of Earth's ancient history reveals that, when it comes to interesting animals, we missed out.
Here's a list of 6 animals that not only went extinct, but did so in such a ridiculous manner it’s almost like the universe went out of its way to screw them over.
The Stephen Island Wren OR Lyall's wren
The Stephen Island Wren OR Lyall's wren
Lyall's wren or the Stephens Island wren (Traversia lyalli) was a small flightless passerine belonging to the family Acanthisittidae, the New Zealand wrens. It was once found throughout New Zealand, but when it came to the attention of scientists in 1894 its last refuge was Stephens Island in Cook Strait. Often claimed to be a species discovered and driven extinct by a single creature a lighthouse keeper's cat named Tibbles, the wren in fact fell victim to the island's numerous feral cats.
Much of what is commonly assumed to be established knowledge about this species' extinction is wrong or misinterpreted. Rothschild (1905) claimed that a single cat had killed all the birds. The research of Galbreath & Brown (2004) and Medway (2004) has uncovered much of the actual history of the bird during the short.
Much of what is commonly assumed to be established knowledge about this species' extinction is wrong or misinterpreted. Rothschild (1905) claimed that a single cat had killed all the birds. The research of Galbreath & Brown (2004) and Medway (2004) has uncovered much of the actual history of the bird during the short.
The Tasmanian Tiger
The Tasmanian tiger Also known as Thylacine. This carnivore wasn’t related to dogs, tigers or hyenas, as many people believe. It was actually a marsupial, closer related to kangaroos and wallabies than any of those other animals. It was originally found in Australia and New Zealand, but it was essentially extinct in those areas long before Europeans discovered it. Even so, it thrived on the island of Tasmania until European settlers issued began fearing that the animals were eating their livestock. Like wolves, the Tasmanian tiger was often accused of slaughtering sheep in the fields. As a result, the Van Dieman’s Land Company issued a bounty on the creature, offering one pound per adult and ten shillings for each pup.
Scientists have still not been able to verify accusations of the animals eating livestock, but it would be too late to help the thylacines anyway, as the last known individual was captured in 1933 and died in a zoo in 1936.
Scientists have still not been able to verify accusations of the animals eating livestock, but it would be too late to help the thylacines anyway, as the last known individual was captured in 1933 and died in a zoo in 1936.
The Tecopa Pupfish
The Tecopa Pupfish has an important role in the history of extinction, as it was the first animal to be officially declared extinct according to the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Tecopa Pupfish was endemic only to the Tecoopa Hot Springs of the Mojave Desert The Tecopa pupfish was a small, adorably named species of fish that was endemic to a small area of California famed for its natural hot springs. During the ’60s, the various hot springs in the area the pupfish were native to were enlarged to help construct several large bathhouses. Basically, these are natural hot tubs for rich people to soak their feet and large sacks of money in. This led to the small outflows and rivers the fish lived in being further dug out to accommodate the increased flow of water. This caused the outflows to begin flowing so much faster that the entire species was basically flushed down-river, where they all died in the colder water.
The Cordoba Fighting Dog
The Cordoba fighting dog was a rare and unusual species of canine known for its near unrivaled ferocity and seeming inability to feel pain, fear, or pity. As the name suggests, Cordoba fighting dogs were bred into existence purely for fighting, supposedly by Argentinians sometime in the late 19th century. This is a kind of breed people created to earn money from dog fighting.
A cross between several breeds valued for their size and power, such as the boxer, the mastiff, and bull terrier. Cordoba fighting dogs would attack anything and were highly valued by the festering pustules of society, known as dog fighters, for their willingness to fight to the death. Having this kind of breed is pretty useless to become a pet especially because it is designed to kill. As we usually know, male and female dogs often mate when they interact each other especially it is their “hit” time of the year but these Cordoba fighting dogs would rather engage in a bloody combat than mate with each other. No man would want some overly aggressive dog to be its pet which pretty much led to its extinction during the 20th century. This led to the species slowly dwindling and ultimately going extinct with the banning of dog fighting in the 20th century in Argentina.
A cross between several breeds valued for their size and power, such as the boxer, the mastiff, and bull terrier. Cordoba fighting dogs would attack anything and were highly valued by the festering pustules of society, known as dog fighters, for their willingness to fight to the death. Having this kind of breed is pretty useless to become a pet especially because it is designed to kill. As we usually know, male and female dogs often mate when they interact each other especially it is their “hit” time of the year but these Cordoba fighting dogs would rather engage in a bloody combat than mate with each other. No man would want some overly aggressive dog to be its pet which pretty much led to its extinction during the 20th century. This led to the species slowly dwindling and ultimately going extinct with the banning of dog fighting in the 20th century in Argentina.
The Great Auk
Like the dodo, the great auk was a large, flightless bird. In fact, they were close to the same height and weight, but the auk was a little smaller. While the auk might not have been too coordinated on land, it was an excellent swimmer and could even dive down to 3000 feet under the water, while holding its breath for up to fifteen minutes.
As a black and white sea bird that was an excellent swimmer, the great auk seems to be related to penguins, but the two are not genetically similar. Interestingly though, the auk was responsible for the naming of the penguins. The Spanish and Portuguese called the auks pingüinos and the Welsh called it pengwyn, meaning “little wing.” When European sailors discovered penguins, they thought they were related to auks and thus, gave them the same name.
While auks were relatively widespread throughout the North Atlantic, spreading all the way from New England to Iceland to Norway to Spain, they only had a handful of nesting spots due to their demanding breeding needs. Their breeding areas had to be rocky and isolated with easy access to the ocean and a large population of their favorite fish had to be close by. All of these needs ended up leaving them with no more than 20 breeding colonies, even when they had a massive population. To make matters worse, they only laid one egg per year, so when their numbers did start to dwindle, it took a long while for them to increase their population.
Despite these risks, the great auk was hunted by Native American cultures for over 100,000 years without any problems. The bird was more than just a food source, it was a status symbol. Archeologists even found one native buried with a cloak made from over 200 auk skins –he was certainly a revered member of the tribe while alive.
While many other species were wiped out shortly after being discovered by European explorers, the great auk was used as a source of down feathers in Europe since at least the 8th century. Early explorers also used them as an easy source of food and bait since they often ran low on provisions. Even so, the bird managed to survive off of the European coasts until the mid-16thcentury. When these populations were wiped out, scientists realized the great auk was in danger and the bird became one of the first animals to receive legal protection in an attempt to prevent its extinction.
Unfortunately, the bird was acknowledged to be rare garnered intense interest from museums and private collectors who wanted specimens for their collections. They offered high rewards to people who could bring eggs or skins of those birds. Eggers would collect eggs from the nests, keeping those that were unfertilized and throwing away the rest.
The last colony of auks was located on the island of Eldey off of Iceland. As soon as it was discovered, museums started hiring people to collect the birds from the colony. The last pair was found incubating an egg on July 3, 1844. The parents were strangled by two of the collectors and just to ensure there would never be another great auk, a third man made sure to stomp on their egg.
It is important to learn from our history so we can help protect animals that are currently at risk. This is only a small sampling of the many animals that humans have brought to extinction, but with any luck, we can help stop that number from increasing in the future.
As a black and white sea bird that was an excellent swimmer, the great auk seems to be related to penguins, but the two are not genetically similar. Interestingly though, the auk was responsible for the naming of the penguins. The Spanish and Portuguese called the auks pingüinos and the Welsh called it pengwyn, meaning “little wing.” When European sailors discovered penguins, they thought they were related to auks and thus, gave them the same name.
While auks were relatively widespread throughout the North Atlantic, spreading all the way from New England to Iceland to Norway to Spain, they only had a handful of nesting spots due to their demanding breeding needs. Their breeding areas had to be rocky and isolated with easy access to the ocean and a large population of their favorite fish had to be close by. All of these needs ended up leaving them with no more than 20 breeding colonies, even when they had a massive population. To make matters worse, they only laid one egg per year, so when their numbers did start to dwindle, it took a long while for them to increase their population.
Despite these risks, the great auk was hunted by Native American cultures for over 100,000 years without any problems. The bird was more than just a food source, it was a status symbol. Archeologists even found one native buried with a cloak made from over 200 auk skins –he was certainly a revered member of the tribe while alive.
While many other species were wiped out shortly after being discovered by European explorers, the great auk was used as a source of down feathers in Europe since at least the 8th century. Early explorers also used them as an easy source of food and bait since they often ran low on provisions. Even so, the bird managed to survive off of the European coasts until the mid-16thcentury. When these populations were wiped out, scientists realized the great auk was in danger and the bird became one of the first animals to receive legal protection in an attempt to prevent its extinction.
Unfortunately, the bird was acknowledged to be rare garnered intense interest from museums and private collectors who wanted specimens for their collections. They offered high rewards to people who could bring eggs or skins of those birds. Eggers would collect eggs from the nests, keeping those that were unfertilized and throwing away the rest.
The last colony of auks was located on the island of Eldey off of Iceland. As soon as it was discovered, museums started hiring people to collect the birds from the colony. The last pair was found incubating an egg on July 3, 1844. The parents were strangled by two of the collectors and just to ensure there would never be another great auk, a third man made sure to stomp on their egg.
It is important to learn from our history so we can help protect animals that are currently at risk. This is only a small sampling of the many animals that humans have brought to extinction, but with any luck, we can help stop that number from increasing in the future.
Dodo
Plenty of animals have gone extinct in Earth's lifetime. Dinosaurs are one of the many examples of mass extinction by natural causes, but various other species have perhaps had a more depressing reason for their demise.
How many such animals do you know about? Start discussing their names and about them below in Comment Box.
