Remembering 5 Amazing Animals That Went Extinct Due To Human Activity

Yesterday, May 15th 2020, was World Endangered Species Day.

Researchers, conservationists, wildlife enthusiasts and photographers took to social media to spread the message about animals that were on the IUCN Red List. They spoke about animals that are classified as Vulnerable & Endangered and spoke of how humans have the power to safeguard their uncertain future.

But at this point, I realized that talking about the uncertain futures of currently-alive animals just wasn’t enough. If we don’t show people what the impact of human activity and the resultant climate change looks like, we won’t be able to garner enough compassion and love towards conservation.

So, I’ve decided to take a new route. To show the world the magnificent creatures who were once with us, but who are now lost to us forever, thanks to deforestation, pollution, rising temperatures – and every other human-made menace.

Here’s a list of 5 brilliant, beautiful and extinct animals whose deaths we’re responsible for: 

Steller’s Sea Cow

This gentle aquatic giant became extinct a mere 30 years after it was discovered in 1741! They were hunted to death by sailors on the sea, for their meat and fur. The hunting was so fast and relentless, the poor animals didn’t have enough time to reproduce and replenish their lineage.

Steller’s Sea Cow belonged to the same class to which today’s manatees and dugongs belong. They were a whopping 30 feet long and at one point you could see them languidly grazing on the sea bed with their calves.

The sad thing is, the Steller’s Sea Cow was driven to extinction before it could even be properly studied. As a result, we know so little about it. Such a huge loss to the world!

Steller’s Sea Cow (Source)

 

Atlas Bear 

The one and only bear species to originate from Africa, Atlas bears were found across the African continent from Libya to Morroco. Resembling smaller versions of North American bears in appearance, Atlas bears were driven to extinction in the mid-1800s.

The rise of the Roman Empire brought about the fall of the Atlas bear population. Once Roman emperors started conquering parts of Africa, troops would capture Atlas bears and take them captive to Rome. There, these creatures would be forced to fight in public games (called Ludi), against deadly opponents like armed gladiators and other animals like tigers and lions. To break the bears’ spirits, trainers would starve and whip them into submission.

Atlas bear (Source) 

 

Laughing Owl 

Also known as the whēkau, this avian species was once the glory of New Zealand. Nesting on the ground and feeding on everything from insects to bats to ducks to kiwis, they were one of the most fearsome predators on the island. It was named the “laughing owl” because of its unique cry, which sounded like a shrieking laugh.

But the arrival of settlers to New Zealand and the deforestation and construction of cities that followed, pushed these birds closer to humans, where they lost access to their normal food, which was deeper in the jungles.

Additionally, the introduction of non-local animals like cats, rats, ferrets and weasels into New Zealand hastened the Laughing Owl’s journey to extinction. Not having evolved the skills needed to fend-off these new predators, Laughing Owls died a slow and painful death.

Laughing Owl (Source)

 

Caspian tiger

It’s a known fact that the tiger is one of the most endangered species on the planet. While some headway is being made in tiger conservation today, this wasn’t the case during early-to-mid 19th Century.

Once found all over Central Asia, the Caspian tiger species met a tragic end sometime in 1970 as a result of an illegal hunting expedition in Turkey’s Hakkari province. This type of indiscriminate hunting of the tiger for its fur, claws and teeth; plus the illegal trade of Caspian tiger cubs, forced the magnificent species to extinction.

Today, you can see similar human activities driving other tiger species towards extinction. If you’ve watched the show Tiger King, you’ll know that keeping tigers in zoos and so-called “rescue centers” (yes, I’m talking to you Carole – and others like her), will not save these creatures….they’ll just delay the extinction and draw out the pain and torture these animals face.

These days scientists are trying to revive the Caspian tiger species by cloning them using previously-collected DNA. But, there’s no guarantee this will work. That’s why it’s important that something is done to ensure that other tiger species don’t go this route.

Caspian tiger (Source)

 

Bramble Cay melomys

The last animal on our list happens to be the very first animal to have become extinct directly as a result of climate change. Bramble Cay melomys are also the latest mammals to go extinct – having died out in 2016.

Living on the Torres Strait of the Great Barrier Reef just a few years ago, Bramble Cay melomys are now dust and bones, relics in Australia’s natural history museums.

This tiny brown rat was named after its choice of accommodation. Living in cays (which are low-lying banks, corals, rocks and other water-facing spaces on islands), this rodent species was endemic to the vegetated coral of Bramble Cay.

Increasing temperatures around the world have for long led to accelerated melting of polar ice. This has resulted in the rise of water levels in oceans around the world. As a result, the low-lying homes of the Bramble Cay melomys were flooded, drowning large populations and forcing the remaining out of their homes and into the open, where predators stalked.

Following the failed efforts by the Australian Government to trap a few melomys and re-populate the species, the animals fell victim to climate change.

Bramble Cay Melomy (Source) 

 

We need to step up and do something about this now

As of today, countless species have gone extinct. Each of these animals and birds had something unique to offer the world. But we won’t ever get to see them or share this planet with them, because of our own mistakes, greed and indifference.

As the Covid-19 pandemic has shown, just stepping away from our normal routines for a few weeks can allow nature to course-correct and put things right.

Carbon emissions have reduced worldwide. As a result, global temperatures have stabilized. Sea ice isn’t melting as fast as it used to and the ozone layer isn’t depleting at such a fast rate, as in the past.

Animals who were driven away from their original feeding or mating or birthing grounds are finally returning home. Everything has started to come full circle as the Earth has begun healing itself.

But, we don’t need the threat of the coronavirus to replicate these environmental benefits. All we need to do is make conscious decisions about the way we live. Doing so can go a long way in ensuring that the animals that are alive today, don’t just become names we tick-off on a future list of extinct animals.

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image: Crying Earth 

Why Are Marsupials Found Only In Australia?

Take a look at global animal distribution and you’ll notice how each country in the world has a specific type or species of animal, that isn’t found anywhere else.

One such group of animals is the Marsupials – animals that possess a pouch which they use to raise their young in. Some of the best examples of Marsupials are kangaroos, koalas, possums and wombats.

When we think about marsupials, we always associate them with the Land Down Under. Why is it that marsupials are found only in Australia?

Okay, let’s take a moment to set the record straight. Marsupials aren’t found only in Australia. They are also found in South America, Central America and certain parts of North America & Southern Canada. The best example of an American marsupial is the Opossum. 

An opossum

Scientists believe that the first marsupials were actually born in South America and they crossed Antarctica to finally land on and inhabit Australia. This was 180 million years ago, when Australia, Antarctica and South America were a single super-continent called Gondwana. A common marsupial ancestor born in South America branched into two distinct species, with one residing in the Americas and the other migrating to Australia. Today, over 200 species of marsupials are found in Australia, 100 in South America and 13 in Central America – all descendants of the single American ancestor. 

A representative image of the ancient super-continent of Gondwana (image source)

So, the question we should be asking now is – “Why are a majority of the animals that are found in Australia, marsupial?” Or, a better question would be, “Why are so many marsupials still alive in Australia, when most of their American counterparts are extinct?” What makes Australia such a fertile ground for the birth (& survival) of so many marsupial species?. 

The answer can be two-pronged. One line of thinking states that the geography of the country-continent is the reason for a high percentage of marsupials in Australia.

Australia has been a landmass that has remained largely separate from other continents for millions of years. This meant, it was subject to weather and soil conditions that was completely different from what was found on other continents. In turn, this affected the type of plants that grew on the continent, which changed the diet of the Australian marsupials significantly from their American counterparts. The researchers who support this theory believe that the diet offered by Australia was more conducive to the development of the marsupial species as a whole, compared to the diet elsewhere.

The second theory is that, since Australia was largely and for a very long time secluded and protected from the invasion of foreign species, the marsupials of yore didn’t have much competition to face for shelter, food and water. Additionally, the predominantly marsupial population ensured the birth of more marsupials and over time, the continent was soon overrun by marsupials. 

On the other hand, the Americas blossomed with many distinct species of animals, leading to intense competition for resources and as a result, the extinction of many marsupial species. We need to remember here that marsupial babies are born underdeveloped due to the lack of a placenta. They need additional time compared to their placental or egg-born cousins to grow into strong & mature creatures. With so many threats lurking around and such few resources to be shared by thousands of animals, it was just a matter of time before the genetically-weaker marsupial species in the Americas went extinct. 

A short list of placental mammals and marsupials commonly found in the wild (image source)

The future of Australia’s marsupials

So, what’s next for our pouched friends?

Species around the world are experiencing the brunt of habitat loss and governments are implementing conservation projects to keep them safe. In Australia, the kangaroo is given protected status – with criminals found injuring or killing them, getting a one-way ticket to prison. But not all marsupials have been afforded this luxury, making conservation a challenging endeavour.

Additionally, some species like the antechinus, are going extinct for another (never-anticipated) reason – their suicidal mating tendencies – and have stumped scientists. Experts are now scrambling to save these almost-extinct species, but it may already be too late. 

In terms of whether we’ll see any new marsupial species being discovered anytime soon; only time will tell. For now, the focus is on preserving the population that is present in the Land Down Under.

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image: Pixabay

Deceptive Sizing: 3 Newborn Animals Who Are Ridiculously Smaller Than Their Parents

Ah baby animals…these bundles of joy have been lighting up the wild for millennia. While everyone has been raving about their cuteness, not a lot of people have spoken about their size. Let’s face it, when it comes to size, some animals are impressive…impressively small. 

Here are 3 animals whose babies are way smaller than you thought they would be: 

 

Kangaroos

Kangaroo adults can reach heights of 5.25 feet (1.6 meters) and can weigh 90 kilograms (200lbs). But their newborn joeys are smaller than gummy bears, often smaller than 25 millimeters. 

 

An adult female kangaroo

A newborn joey

 

Watch the incredible journey this little joey makes to reach the safety of its mother’s pouch:

 

 

Pandas

At their heaviest, adult pandas can weigh 160 kilograms (350 lbs). But their tiny cubs weigh only 1/900th of their mother’s weight! Now that’s really tiny. 

 

A panda mom with her newborn cub

See that little pink floppy thing on the left side? yup, that little nugget is the cub.

Here’s a fun question; what do you call a group of pandas? An embarrassment! Ha ha, all jokes aside, a group of pandas is called “an embarrassment” because of the boisterous way in which panda cubs play when they’re together. It could embarrass any mum. 

Now indulge in some cub time by watching twin panda cubs embark on their first 100 days of life. 

 

 

Elephants

One of the most intelligent animals on the planet, elephants have longest gestation period in the wild. It takes their bodies 22 months to fully develop the calf (imagine being pregnant for almost two years!). But surprisingly, baby elephants when born are only 90 kilograms (200 lbs), while their heavy-weight mothers, aunts and sisters (and not to forget, their brothers and fathers) can reach ridiculously high weights of 3600 kilograms (4 tonnes)! 

 

Adult elephants

A newborn elephant calf

 

Watch as this newborn calf, just hours old, meets his herd-mates, learns how slopes are not a baby’s friend and discovers the forest he is to grow up in. 

 

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH