This fabulous fauna has gone forever

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West African black rhinoceros

A subspecies of the black rhinoceros, there was a time when this noble creature roamed sub-Saharan Africa in numbers. Its low population, reduced to a few hundred animals in the 1980s, fell to only 10 specimens in 2000. Poaching led to the total extinction of this animal in 2011.

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Cyprinodon nevadensis

This small, heat-tolerant fish was endemic to two hot springs in California’s Mojave Desert. However, the deterioration of its habitat, resulting from human intervention, led to its decline and finally to its extinction, around 1970.

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Passenger Pie

This swift and elegant bird was once common in North America, from the Great Plains to the coast Atlantic. Surprisingly, at one time, the species numbered up to five billion individuals. Their tireless hunt, led by European settlers, quickly wiped them out. The last wild passenger pigeon was seen in 1901.

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tympanuchus cupid cupid

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tympanuchus cupid cupid

In 1890 regarding 120 specimens were still alive, and by 1927 there were only a dozen left. The last sighting of this once widespread species was in 1932, when it disappeared. This photo was taken in 1900.

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Carolina Parakeet

Featuring colorful plumage, this small parrot was native to the eastern, midwestern, and plains states of the United States. Deforestation and hunting caused its rapid decline and in 1939 the species disappeared for good.

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Quagga

A number of quaggas were captured and shipped to zoos in Europe, including this mare pictured at London Zoo in 1870. By 1883 no wild or captive individuals remained, and the quagga was declared extinct in 1900.

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Caspian tiger

Once seen in eastern Turkey, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, Iran and western China, this imposing feline was exterminated by poachers. The loss of its habitat has also contributed to its disappearance. The Caspian tiger is now considered extinct. Pictured is a representative of the species at Berlin Zoo in 1899.

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Pyrenean Ibex

A subspecies of the Iberian ibex and once found in Spain’s Cantabrian Mountains, southern France and the Pyrenees, the disappearance of this agile beast remains a mystery. Overgrazing, diseases and infections are some of the reasons put forward to explain its extinction. The last Pyrenean ibex died in 2000.

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Rhytine de Steller

The waters surrounding the Aleutian Islands provided shelter and food for this huge aquatic mammal. The species was quickly wiped out by fur traders and seal hunters in the 18th century. In 1768, no animal remained.
In the UK, a Steller’s Rhytina skull is on display at the Natural History Museum in London.

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Caribbean monk seal

Sharks, humans and overfishing have contributed to the extermination of this gentle and docile mammal. Its fate was sealed as early as the 18th century and the last confirmed sighting was in 1952. This photo shows a Caribbean monk seal at the New York Aquarium in 1910.

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Taiwan clouded leopard

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Java tiger

Smaller and with finer and narrower stripes than its cousins, the Javan tiger survived until 1970, on the island of Java. Chased without mercy in the heart of a habitat reduced to nothing by urbanization, he succumbed to the inevitable in 1994.

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Gravenche

The Gravenche is now considered extinct since this freshwater fish, endemic to Lake Geneva, has not been sighted since the early 1900s. Overfishing and eutrophication, excessive growth of plants and algae, have been questioned.

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Japanese sea lion

Commercial fishing, the effects of bombing during World War II and its use in circuses are just some of the causes cited for the disappearance of this aquatic mammal. He passed away in the 1970s.

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Wallaby de Grey

It took just 85 years following European colonization of southern Australia and southwestern Victoria in the mid-19th century to exterminate this slender and graceful animal. The destruction of its habitat and the introduction of predators are the cause of its extinction. Grey’s last wallaby died in 1939.

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big penguin

Once a familiar bird of the cold waters of the North Atlantic, the great auk had a population of several million individuals. Hunted for its meat, eggs and fluffy feathers, this flightless bird was easy prey. The last two birds were killed in 1844.

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28/28 SLIDES

This fabulous fauna has gone forever