17 Recently Extinct Animals

• Report rights infringement
• published: 19 Dec 2016
• views: 917

What do you do to help make things easier on the environment around you? Let us know in the comments below and subscribe to our channel for more informative videos, just like this – thanks for watching. Subscribe for weekly wacky videos and learn interesting facts about the world with awesome top 10 lists and other amazing videos. 10 - Not for sale… It seems the fight against Rhino poaching is getting more and more difficult. It won’t be long before we are showing our children images of all rhinos, trying to explain these beautiful creatures. Already the rarest of the rhinos, the West African black rhinoceros, is officially extinct. You used to find hundreds of them in Africa, and now none – not even in captivity. 9 - When you’re dead, you’re dead… There’s no coming back! It was 2012 that the very last Pinta Island Tortoise sadly passed away. This is totally blamed on humans and their hunting. Apparently, they were hunted for food during the 19th century, and when goats were introduced on the island in the 50’s, the tortoises’ natural habitat was ruined. People tried to conserve the tortoise, but their efforts failed and they were left with one. Lonesome George mated with others, but their eggs were never fertile. He died in 2012. 8 - Forever in our memory… These Zanzibar leopards were found mostly in the Tanzania state of Australia. They were excellent predators and people were actually afraid of them. It was believed that witches would use the leopards to go and harass or harm the villagers, and the leopards became demonized. They were hunted intensely, and by 1997 – considered extinct. 7 - It’s finally official… Considering this Caribbean Monk Seal was only declared extinct in 2008, you may be surprised to have never seen one before. That’s probably because the last time one was actually seen alive was in 1952. Scientists were once again reluctant to call it, and were hoping to find more. They were hunted excessively for their blubber during the 17 and 1800’s. This seal had a nasal mite, which is now also extinct. 6 - Picture perfect… And that’s the only way this Ivory-billed Woodpecker will ever be. Because you can never, ever see one in real life again. Major habitat loss is the main reason why they’re no longer around, and some sites report the last official siting to be 1940. At one stage, there was a reward of $10 000.00 for anyone with information on these birds, but no one came forward with anything. 5 - Gone but not forgotten… The Baiji dolphin also known as the Yangtze River Dolphin was still recently listed on the critically endangered list, but it’s now been said they are officially extinct. Scientists traveled up and down the river for 2000 miles, using underwater microphones and optical instruments to detect the dolphin. There was thought to be a sighting in 2002, but it wasn’t conclusive. The demise of this beautiful dolphin is blamed on overfishing, pollution, poaching, habitat loss and excessive boat traffic. 4 - Another one gone… The Black-Faced Honeycreeper was a native bird in Hawaii, but partly thanks to the introduction of animals like pigs, cats and rats – havoc was wreaked on the eco-system over the past few centuries. That’s the reason given for the demise of this bird. The last one known to man, died in 2004 and none have been seen since. 3 - No longer in flight… This beautiful animal is the Madeiran large white, with the purest white wings and black tips. Sadly, the last one collected was in 1977, and although searched for extensively in the 80’s and 90’s, never found. It’s thought to be the result of a virus, and has officially been declared extinct. 2 - Good as gone This "salmonid" fish is called the Blackfin Cisco, and they used to be plentiful in the Great Lakes. Its dwindling population is because of overfishing and the invasion of species like the Rainbow Smelt, the Alewife and a type of sea lamprey. They have been considered extinct since 1996 and the last one seen was in Lake Michigan in 1969. However, there was one thought to be seen in 2006, so who knows – perhaps there are more. 1 - Never coming back… Our last extinct animal on our list is from Australia. It’s the Lesser Stick Nest Rat, and it used to make the most incredible nests using sticks, with some reaching as high as 9-feet. It’s been said they tasted pretty good, and they were quite trusting of humans – which didn’t help the little guy at all. They were last documented on film in 1933, but in 1970 there was also a trusted sighting.