In 2014, the most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever (1133 of the 5487 mammal species on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction), according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
According to the IUCN at least 76 mammal species and 7 mammal subspecies have become extinct since the year 1500. However, the real situation could be much worse, as 836 mammal species are listed as Data Deficient. As information improves, more mammals may well prove to be in danger of extinction or already extinct.
#1 - Baiji - (Lipotes vexillifer)
Recently
extinguish in 2006. Today the Yangtze River dolphin, Lipotes
vexillifer, can only be seen in photographs. Averaging 220 lbs. and over
8 ft. long, these charismatic creatures swam the 3,900 miles of China’s
great river (and its infinite branches) emitting its unique squeak.
#2 - Quagga
The
quagga (Equus quagga quagga)
is an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra, which was once found in great numbers in South Africa's Cape Province and the southern part of the Orange Free State. It was distinguished from other zebras by having the usual vivid marks on the front part of the body only. In the mid-section, the stripes faded and the dark, inter-stripe spaces became wider, and the rear parts were a plain brown. The name comes from a Khoikhoi word for zebra and is onomatopoeic, being said to resemble the quagga's call. The only quagga to have been photographed alive was a mare at the Zoological Society of London's Zoo in Regent's Park in 1870.
is an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra, which was once found in great numbers in South Africa's Cape Province and the southern part of the Orange Free State. It was distinguished from other zebras by having the usual vivid marks on the front part of the body only. In the mid-section, the stripes faded and the dark, inter-stripe spaces became wider, and the rear parts were a plain brown. The name comes from a Khoikhoi word for zebra and is onomatopoeic, being said to resemble the quagga's call. The only quagga to have been photographed alive was a mare at the Zoological Society of London's Zoo in Regent's Park in 1870.
#3 - Tasmanian Tiger
The
last known thylacine photographed at Hobart (formerly Beaumaris) Zoo in
1933. A scrotal sac is not visible in this or any other of the photos
or film taken, leading to the supposition that "Benjamin" was a female,
but the existence of a scrotal pouch in the thylacine makes it
impossible to be certain.
#4 - Aurochs
The
aurochs or urus (Bos primigenius), the ancestor of domestic cattle, was
a type of huge wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North
Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627.
The aurochs was far larger than most modern domestic cattle with a shoulder height of 2 metres (6.6 ft) and weighing 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb). The aurochs was regarded as a challenging quarry animal, contributing to its extinction. The last recorded aurochs, a female, died in 1627 in the Jaktorów Forest, Poland, and her skull is now the property of Livrustkammaren in Stockholm.
Aurochs appear in prehistoric cave paintings, in Julius Caesar's The Gallic War, and as the national symbol of many European countries, states and cities such as Alba-Iulia, Kaunas, Romania, Moldavia, Mecklenburg, and Uri. The Swiss canton Uri was actually named after this animal species.
Domestication of bovines occurred in several parts of the world but at roughly the same time, about 8,000 years ago, possibly all derived from the aurochs. In 1920, the Heck brothers, who were German biologists, attempted to recreate aurochs. The resulting cattle are known as Heck cattle or Reconstructed Aurochs, and number in the thousands in Europe today. However, they are genetically and physiologically distinct from aurochs. The Heck brothers' aurochs also have a pale yellow dorsal stripe, instead of white.
The aurochs was far larger than most modern domestic cattle with a shoulder height of 2 metres (6.6 ft) and weighing 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb). The aurochs was regarded as a challenging quarry animal, contributing to its extinction. The last recorded aurochs, a female, died in 1627 in the Jaktorów Forest, Poland, and her skull is now the property of Livrustkammaren in Stockholm.
Aurochs appear in prehistoric cave paintings, in Julius Caesar's The Gallic War, and as the national symbol of many European countries, states and cities such as Alba-Iulia, Kaunas, Romania, Moldavia, Mecklenburg, and Uri. The Swiss canton Uri was actually named after this animal species.
Domestication of bovines occurred in several parts of the world but at roughly the same time, about 8,000 years ago, possibly all derived from the aurochs. In 1920, the Heck brothers, who were German biologists, attempted to recreate aurochs. The resulting cattle are known as Heck cattle or Reconstructed Aurochs, and number in the thousands in Europe today. However, they are genetically and physiologically distinct from aurochs. The Heck brothers' aurochs also have a pale yellow dorsal stripe, instead of white.
#5 - Falkland Islands Wolf
The
Falkland Islands Wolf (Dusicyon australis), also known as the Warrah
and occasionally as the Falkland Islands Dog, Falkland Islands Fox or
Antarctic Wolf, was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands.
This endemic canid became extinct in 1876 (on West Falkland island),
the first known canid to have gone extinct in historical times. It was
the only modern species in the genus Dusicyon. Original research
supposed that the most closely related genus is Lycalopex, including the
Culpeo and his domestic forms (perro fueguino, perro yagán), which
itself has been introduced to the Falkland Islands in modern times. But
2009 research conducted by a scientific team directed by Graham J.
Slater, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Los
Angeles, confirmed that the Falkland Island wolf's closest living
relative is actually the Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) - an
unusually long-legged, fox-like South American canid, which it separated
from about 6.7 million years ago. It was known from both West and East
Falkland, but it is unknown if the varieties were much differentiated.
The fur of the Falkland Islands Wolf had a tawny colour. The tip of the tail was white. The diet is unknown. Due to the absence of native rodents on the Falklands, its diet probably consisted of ground-nesting birds such as geese and penguins, grubs and insects, as well as seashore scavenging. It was sometimes said to have dwelt in burrows.
The fur of the Falkland Islands Wolf had a tawny colour. The tip of the tail was white. The diet is unknown. Due to the absence of native rodents on the Falklands, its diet probably consisted of ground-nesting birds such as geese and penguins, grubs and insects, as well as seashore scavenging. It was sometimes said to have dwelt in burrows.
#6 - Pyrenean Ibex
The
Pyrenean Ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) is an ibex, one of the two
extinct subspecies of Spanish Ibex. The subspecies once ranged across
the Pyrenees in France and Spain and the surrounding area, including the
Basque Country, Navarre, north Aragon and north Catalonia. A few
hundred years ago they were numerous, but by 1900 their numbers had
fallen to fewer than 100. From 1910 onwards, their numbers never rose
above 40, and the subspecies was found only in a small part of Ordesa
National Park, in Huesca.
The last natural Pyrenean Ibex, a female named Celia, was found dead on January 6, 2000, apparently killed by a falling tree. Although her cause of death is known, the reason for the extinction of the subspecies as a whole is a mystery. Some hypotheses include the inability to compete with other species for food, infections and diseases, and poaching. The Pyrenean Ibex became the first taxon ever to become "un-extinct" when, for a period of seven minutes in January 2009, a cloned female Ibex was born alive before dying from breathing difficulties.
The diet of the Pyrenean Ibex consisted of grass, herbs and lichens. The ibex was paraxonic, with the plane of symmetry of each foot passing between the third and fourth digits. The third and fourth digits were quite large and bore most of the weight.
The last natural Pyrenean Ibex, a female named Celia, was found dead on January 6, 2000, apparently killed by a falling tree. Although her cause of death is known, the reason for the extinction of the subspecies as a whole is a mystery. Some hypotheses include the inability to compete with other species for food, infections and diseases, and poaching. The Pyrenean Ibex became the first taxon ever to become "un-extinct" when, for a period of seven minutes in January 2009, a cloned female Ibex was born alive before dying from breathing difficulties.
The diet of the Pyrenean Ibex consisted of grass, herbs and lichens. The ibex was paraxonic, with the plane of symmetry of each foot passing between the third and fourth digits. The third and fourth digits were quite large and bore most of the weight.
#7 - Sea Mink
The
Sea Mink, Neovison macrodon, is an extinct North American member of the
Mustelidae family. It is the only mustelid, and one of only two
terrestrial mammal species in the order Carnivora, to go extinct in
historic times (along with the Falkland Islands Wolf). The body of the
sea mink was significantly longer than that of the closely related
American Mink (N. vison), and also bulkier, leading to a pelt that was
almost twice the size of the other species. The longest specimen
recorded was said to be 82.6 cm (32.5 in). The fur of the Sea Mink was
said to be coarser and redder than the American Mink's, and produced a
distinctive odor
#8 - BullDog Rat
The
Bulldog Rat (Rattus nativitatis) was a species of rat endemic to the
Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. The rats lived on the higher hills
and denser forests of the island. They had short tails and their backs
were covered in a two centimetre thick layer of fat. They lived in small
colonies, in burrows among the roots of trees or under hollow logs in
primary forest. They were sluggish and never climbed and may have seemed
half-dazed in daylight. The last record dates from 1903. They may have
succumbed to a disease brought by black rats that had been inadvertently
introduced by human sailors.
#9 - Rucervus Schomburgki
Schomburgk's
Deer (Rucervus schomburgki) was a member of the family Cervidae. This
deer was endemic to Thailand. Schomburgk's deer was described by Edward
Blyth in 1863 and named after Sir Robert H. Schomburgk, who was the
British consul in Bangkok from 1857-1864.
#10 - BlueMuck
The
Bluebuck or Blue Antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus), sometimes called
Blaubok, is an extinct species of antelope, the first large African
mammal to disappear in historic times. It is related to the Roan
Antelope and Sable Antelope, but slightly smaller than either. It lived
in the southwestern coastal region of South Africa savannahs, but was
more widespread during the last glacial. It was probably a selective
feeder, preferring high-quality grasses.
Europeans encountered the Bluebuck in the 17th century, but it was already uncommon by then. European settlers hunted it avidly, despite its flesh being distasteful, while converting its habitat to agriculture. The Bluebuck became extinct around 1800. There are only four mounted specimens – in museums in Vienna, Stockholm, Paris, and Leiden – along with some bones and horns elsewhere. None of the museum specimens show a blue colour, which may have derived from a mixture of black and yellow hairs.
Europeans encountered the Bluebuck in the 17th century, but it was already uncommon by then. European settlers hunted it avidly, despite its flesh being distasteful, while converting its habitat to agriculture. The Bluebuck became extinct around 1800. There are only four mounted specimens – in museums in Vienna, Stockholm, Paris, and Leiden – along with some bones and horns elsewhere. None of the museum specimens show a blue colour, which may have derived from a mixture of black and yellow hairs.

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