Extinct Species Of The World : Amazing Information
Extinction is a normal process in the course of
evolution. Species have slowly evolved and disappeared throughout geologic
time as the result of climate changes and the inability to adapt to survive
competition and predation. Since the 1600s, however, the rate of extinction
has accelerated rapidly because of human population growth and human
resource consumption. Today, most of the world’s habitats are changing
faster than most species can adapt to through evolution, or natural
selection. The current global extinction rate is exponentially greater than
the background (normal rate of extinction in the process of evolution)
extinction rate. Many biologists believe that we are in the middle of the
greatest mass extinction episode since the disappearance of the dinosaurs 65
million years ago.
Causes of extinction There are a number of reasons that can
contribute directly or indirectly to the extinction of a species or group of
species. The primary causes of species extinction or endangerment are
habitat destruction, commercial exploitation (such as plant collecting,
hunting, and trade in animal parts), damage caused by non-native plants and
animals introduced into an area, and pollution.
The survival of ecosystems (plant and animal communities and their physical
surroundings) such as forests, coral reefs, or wetlands depends on their
biodiversity, or variety of plants, animals, and habitats, as well as the
many interactions among these species.
The removal or disappearance of one or several species may irreversibly
damage the ecosystem and lead to its decline.
Some of the beautiful species that are extinct are discussed below:
Ivory-bill
woodpecker This elusive woodpecker known to be extinct in
1940s was seen again. On February 11, 2004, a kayaker caught a glimpse of a
huge and unusual woodpecker in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge of
Arkansas. The encounter spurred an extensive scientific search for a species
that many feared had vanished forever, driven to extinction by the
destruction of southern old-growth forests. Further evidence and search
proved that at least one of these species is still alive.
Caspian
tiger Caspian Tigers lived in China, Tajikistan,
Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. They were hunted for their furs and to protect
livestock. A ban on hunting the Caspian Tiger in the USSR in 1947 followed
their greatest destruction in the 1930s. The last Caspian Tiger reported
shot was in 1957.
Quagga Quagga, Equus burchelli quagga, of the Karoo
Plains and southern Free State of South Africa were a subspecies of the
Burchellâ’s Zebra, although their unique appearance wouldn’t necessarily
make this apparent. Some thought incorrectly that the Quagga was the female
of Burchell’s Zebra, probably because the natives gave both zebras the same
name.
In the wild, Quaggas, Ostriches and Wildebeests often grazed together in
what was termed the “triple alliance”. The Quagga’s hearing, the Ostrich’s
eyesight and the Wildebeest’s keen sense of smell comprised excellent
defense from predators for the entire herd. However, its limited range made
it all the more vulnerable and Quaggas were hunted to the brink of
extinction in the mid 19th century by settlers razing sheep, goats and other
livestock. The last Quagga died in 1883 in an Amsterdam Zoo.
Dodo In 1505, Portuguese explorers discovered the
island of Mauritius and the 50 pounds flightless dodos which supplemented
their food stores. Imported pigs, monkeys and rats fed on the dodo’s eggs in
their ground nests. The last dodo was killed in 1681.
Tasmanian
wolf The Tasmanian wolf is not a wolf, but a
carnivorous marsupial and a relative of wombats and kangaroos. It even has a
pouch. Tasmanian officials promoting ranching paid bounties to hunters.
Believed to be extinct for well over half a century, unconfirmed reported
sightings persist.
Cave
bear The cave bear lived in Europe during the
Pleistocene (1.8 million years ago to 11,000 years ago) from 500,000 years
ago until 10,000 years ago. Their remains have been found in caves where
they lived and early humans left their drawings on cave walls. When upright,
they stood 12 feet tall.
Saber
tooth tiger Saber tooth tigers lived in Europe and North
America. They were fast runners for short distances and probably ambushed
their prey in packs. The hoplophoneus species lived 20 million years ago.
The smilodon species lived during the Pleistocene from 1.6 million years ago
to 10,000 years ago when it became extinct.
Irish
deer Herds of the giant Irish deer lived in Europe
and Ireland during the late Pleistocene until about 10,000 or 11,000 years
ago. It stood six feet high at its shoulders, the size of moose, and its
broad antlers spanned 10 feet.
Bachman’s
warblers A recently extinct species, Bachman’s warblers
nested in the underbrush of forested swamps in the region bounded by
Louisiana up to Kentucky and Maryland, and over to the Carolinas and
Georgia, migrating to Cuba in winters. None have been seen since the early
1960s in North America and they were listed as endangered in 1967.
Carolina
parakeet Once abundant, this extinct species nested in
large colonies in the cypress swamps in the South Atlantic and Gulf States.
They migrated up the Mississippi, and Missouri Rivers to the Platte and
regularly to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska, and in
the east to Pennsylvania. Hunted for their feathers and slaughtered as
pests, the last reported sighting in the wild was a small flock in Florida
in 1920.
Passenger
pigeons Wonderfully prolific, the passenger pigeon had
the vast forests of the North as its breeding grounds, and travelled
hundreds of miles in search of food. It was once thought that no ordinary
destruction can lessen them. One of the most noted of extinct animals,
passenger pigeons were reduced from numbers in the hundreds of millions for
food.
Giant
kangaroos Giant kangaroos and wombats as large as modern
rhinos once lived in Australia.
Phororhacos The extinct bird, Phororhacos lived in South
America during the Miocene and stood eight feet tall. Imagine running away
from this carnivore!
Conclusion Many of the efforts to conserve the natural
world — wild habitats, species, biodiversity — will be in vain so long as
the human population continues to increase, and so long as people continue
to practice aggressive, predatory economic systems. It is up to us now to
preserve the crippling environment of the world or else the humans will meet
the same end as the beasts.