Various species have been extinct at one time or another throughout the history of our planet. The way in which populations of organisms have been declining rapidly over the past two centuries is due to the destructive activities of humankind.
Therefore, the cow didn’t even die out as a species. This animal was exterminated in favour of eating its delicious meat and useful fat.
This species was discovered thanks to Vitus Bering and his expedition. For several months he was on a journey and completely deprived of all food supplies.
Fortunately, the expedition scientist Wilhelm Steller found an unusual animal of enormous size in the ocean. It got its name «Sea Cow» thanks to its appearance.
The meat of the sea giants tasted like beef and saved the lives of the expedition. As a result, people began to prey on these animals and this activity led to their complete destruction.
Several species of animals that have disappeared within a hundred years
Miracles happen even today. Some species of animals that people thought were irretrievably lost have been rediscovered by explorers and travellers.
- The night snake from Clarion Island (Clarion) off the coast of Mexico became extinct about a century ago. In 2014, an expedition of Daniel Mulkai again discovered these amazing animals.
- Przewalski’s horse has disappeared due to habitat change, but through the efforts of scientists has been reintroduced and has been successfully distributed throughout Mongolia.
- A miniature Australian night parrot. This animal was thought to have been extinct since 1912, but in 1979, photographer John Young noticed this.
Production technologies are becoming cleaner, habitats are improving and some animals that have disappeared in the last 100 years are returning to live a new life in the modern world.
The most famous extinct mammals
For various reasons, some species of animals are getting more and more attention, so today, the world knows more about their tragic disappearance over the last hundred years, and it is because of human activity.
- Thylacine. This night hunter of terrifying species lived in Australia.
- The aurochs in Europe, bison in North America was completely wiped out by hunters.
- Balinese Tiger. It is the most miniature subspecies of the most beautiful predatory cats that once lived on only one island in the world, but it disappeared due to uncontrolled hunting. The animal’s organs and bones were popular in traditional medicine and healing.
According to the statistics compiled by researchers, during the last 500 years about 1000 species of animals have completely died out, but the animals that have disappeared in the last 100 years are notable for having the art of photography, and as a result, it helped people to know their exact and detailed appearance.
Photographs of some extinct or extinct species have been preserved.
- The Berber Lion, which lived in the deserts and steppes of North Africa. It is often mentioned in 19th-century adventure novels. This species is believed to have been slaughtered by pastoralists, as it often fed on domestic animals.
- The Australian marsupial wolf. This animal has disappeared because of the spread of a more efficient rival predator called Dingo’s dog.
- Mexican grizzly. This bear once lived in some states of Mexico but disappeared in 1960. Colour images of this bear are still available to humans. This animal has become extinct because of the active human settlement of its habitat.
People alone should not be blamed for reducing the diversity of wildlife. Species are also extinct due to natural causes, which include natural disasters such as interspecies competition.