Animals that recently passed the earth without a generation of their own… - By: Robin Mackenzie

As the story goes, God first created animals and then humans. If this is to be believed, then animals were the first living things that graced our earth before we did. So imagine how many species must have been there! The entire earth must have been one huge forest. I always have the belief that the animals were the kings of the earth millions and millions of years ago when the earth started. But with the increase in human civilization, the animal species started reducing. There are a lot of animals that have become extinct (end of a particular species). We cannot say that animals have become extinct just because of civilization; it is also because of the change in climate, pollution, etc. but whatever the reasons are, the root cause directly or in-directly seems to be the humans. Though we know a lot of extinct species like dinosaurs, dodos, thylacine, Stellar’s sea cow, saber tooth tigers, etc. we are not aware about the animals that became extinct quite recently.

The Baiji river dolphins are one of the recent extinct species. They declined quite fast unlike many other extinct species. The drop in their population started when China started using the rivers for industrialization like fishing and transportation. As china developed, the dolphins started to decrease. As the animal is blind and moved around with the sound frequency it hears, it often hit propellers which caused its death. A number of few hundreds were only left in 1970’s. In spite of trying to conserve the dolphins, they were declared extinct in 2006 as a search expedition proved to be futile. The tecopa fish is another species that became extinct recently. Their native is the Tecopa hot springs that is situated in California, United States. The population of the species started to decrease when the springs around the area were made in to canals to support the commercialism of the area. The Tecopa fish were the first species to be enlisted in the Endangered Species Act in the year 1973 in the year 1981.

The golden toad is another beautiful species that is extinct now. Their habitat was in high altitude of Costa Rica. The specimen has no longer been found since 1987. The cause has been associated to air pollution and global warming. It was declared extinct in the year 2007. The Pyrenean Ibex which belongs to the deer family is also an extinct animal. What is interesting to note about this species is that, it was the first species that was cloned to prevent extinction. But, the clone died after seven minutes of completion due to lung failure. By the end of 1980’s the population was only a meager 6-14. The naturally born Pyrenean Ibex was found dead under a fallen tree in the year 2000. Its only companion died the previous year due to old age.

One of the most tragic extinct is of the passenger pigeon. They were used for sending letters and other information in those days. In fact, they were the most common birds in North America. But once pigeon meat became commercial, it was considered a cheap meat and was popular among the peasants and the poor. The last pigeon bird has reportedly died in 1914.

Most of them became extinct mostly because of commercialism. Like a Moving Checklist, these birds and animals have been packed and sent off from the face of the earth due to various reasons. It is sad to see that many had become extinct due to neglect also.

About the Author

Robin Mackenzie is a freelancer and a nature enthusiast. She loves animals and tries her best in extending support to the conservation of animals that are endangered. She also enjoys traveling and her Moving Checklist always contain clothes, vanity and a book on animals!

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