The animal and plant world of our huge planet is great and diverse. But, unfortunately, there are sad statistics, according to which over 850 species of animals and plants have disappeared from the surface of the earth over the past 500 years.
The extinction process is influenced by many factors, from purely natural disasters to direct human intervention. Without looking into the distant past, let us clarify that there are also such inhabitants of the planet that have died out recently, and our short review presents extinct animals in the 21st century.
Abingdon elephant tortoise
The world learned about the Galapagos, or, as they are also called, elephant turtles at the end of the 19th century, when Albert Gunter first described this species and presented the description and drawings to the scientific community.
But even then, the inhabitants of the Galapogos Islands were not numerous, and were on the verge of extinction. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a campaign began to preserve the population of this unique species, but all efforts were in vain.
The last representative of this beautiful and unique turtle named Lone George died in captivity on July 24, 2012. From now on, these turtles are officially considered extinct.
Bucardo
At the end of the twentieth century, among the mountain peaks of the Pyrenees lived the most beautiful representative of the kind of mountain goats - bucardo. Today, only drawings and photographs of this animal remained in our memory.
Males differed from females in larger and more massive horns, and by the edges of the horns it was possible to find out the exact age of the animal. A sharp reduction in the subspecies began at the beginning of the twentieth century, when there were only 40 individuals left.
In 2000, the last female Bucardo nicknamed Celia died, and the species was officially recognized extinct.
Spotted green dove
This amazing representative of birds differed from its counterparts in a bright green color, and most importantly, in large size, reaching up to 32 centimeters in length.
Back in the 1920s, a unique bird was seen on some islands of the Pacific Ocean, and in 1898, Joseph Smith was even able to sketch a green dove.
The officially recognized date of the species disappearance was 2008, when zoologists confirmed that not a single individual of a spotted green dove remained in the world.
Cameroon black rhino
One of the main reasons for the disappearance of this giant, who lives in the savannas south of the Sahara, was their active extermination and poaching. This herbivore and quite peaceful animal reached a size of 4.2 meters in length, weighing about 1.4 tons.
Hunters killed animals because of the value of the horn, as well as meat, which was an expensive delicacy. Despite the fact that hunting for this unique species was prohibited, poachers continued to kill animals.
The last time, according to eyewitnesses, in West Africa they saw these rhinos in 2006, and since November 2013, this subspecies is officially considered extinct.
Dwarf grebe
This cute bird from the family of small toadstools, just recently pleased the ear with its bewitching singing, but in the early 80s the population began to decline sharply.
It was possible to meet her on the lakes of Madagascar, but she very rarely got into the lenses of cameras, because only one photograph of her was preserved. The small size of the wings did not allow the bird to make long flights, so it could not adapt to changes in natural living conditions.
In 2010, global environmental organizations recognized the Madagascar bird as extinct.
Chinese river dolphin
At the end of the twentieth century, the amazing mammal lived in the muddy waters of the Chinese Yangtze, and delighted local residents and many tourists with its good-natured and playful character.
In the second half of the twentieth century, the rapid development of industry in China led to the pollution of river waters, which ultimately led to a reduction in the population of freshwater baiji dolphin. Poachers also had a hand in cutting.
The last representative of a unique species of river dolphins nicknamed Quickwy died in June 2002, and in 2006 the species was recognized as completely extinct.
Caboverdean Giant Skink
A large lizard from a small family of skinks lived on islands near the southern tip of Africa. It was officially considered a herbivore, although there were also cases of eating by the giant skink and the chicks of those birds that nested on the islands.
Zoologists found that the sad and most important reason for their extinction was the active activity of man in the habitats of the lizard. As a result of changes in the natural habitat, the lizards failed to adapt and began to die out.
The vegetation that fed the species disappeared, and in 2013 this reptile species was officially declared extinct.
Some threatening facts ...
- about 40% of living organisms existing on Earth today are threatened with extinction, and officially recognized as endangered;
- 25 species of animals are the most vulnerable, which include koalas, chimpanzees, Amur tigers, cheetahs and other amazing inhabitants of the planet;
- every day our world loses from 10 to 130 living organisms of species that cannot be restored in the future. Scientists compare this situation with the extinction of dinosaurs that occurred 70 million years ago.
There is hope ...
Science does not stand still, and today zoologists have identified 10 species of animals that in the future can be resurrected using cloning technology from preserved DNA. This short list includes both the woolly mammoth, extinct in the 21st century, and the long-disappeared in the surface of the earth, tour, Tasmanian wolf and some other animals.
Conclusion
As you can see, already in our century there are enough extinct animals, and in the future only an increase in this number of inhabitants of the earth is forecasted, because when exploring new open spaces, a person simply destroys the natural habitat of some species.
Recent years, scientists around the world have warned that if Mankind will at the same pace to develop natural resources and rashly treat the gifts of Mother Earth, then man himself will soon become a dangerous series of endangered species.
Article author: Valery Skiba