Find Out What Animals Have Recently Gone Extinct
Whether we like it or not, human activities are mostly responsible for the extinction of animal species. Animals go extinct because of several factors, including climate change, habitat loss, pollution, and more.
We can now have a look at a list of animals that have recently gone extinct from our planet. While they’re not among us anymore, there are measures we humans can take to prevent the same scenario from happening in the case of other species.
Spotted Green Pigeon (Caloenas maculata)
The Spotted Green Pigeon is a bird native to the island of Mauritius, and it went extinct during the early 20th century because of habitat loss and hunting.
This bird had a striking and vibrant plumage, and it appeared predominantly green with a pinkish hue placed on the neck and chest. Such pigeons were mainly found in the forests and woodlands from the Mscarene Islands, as these birds inhabit both Mauritius and Rodrigues, which are both located east of Madagascar.
Baiji
Baiji is also known as the Chinese river dolphin, and it became extinct back in 2017. This creature lived in the Yangtze River in China for about 20 million years.
This dolphin species grew up to 8 feet long, and it was known as a quiet and peaceful creature. The baiji dolphin is the first dolphin species to face extinction because of human activity.
Smooth handfish
The smooth handfish was declared extinct just about three years ago, in 2020, and this creature surely looks nothing like the usual fish.
The smooth handfish is even able to walk on the seafloor using its fins that have the same appearance as human hands.
Thiis creature was measuring roughly 5.9 inches long and lived in Tasmania, in the coastal water bodies. The smooth handfish was the first modern-day marine fish that became extinct.
Splendid poison frog
The splendid poison frog became extinct in 2020, and this creature belonged to the poison dart frog species. Splendid poison frogs were even some of the brightest frogs in the world.
Splendid forest frogs were declared extinct in 2020 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Bramble Cay Melomys
Bramble Cay Melomys was a small vegetated coral cay from the northeastern part of Australia, and it was declared extinct in 2019.
We’re obviously talking about a rodent, one that had large feet, a long tail, and short ears. These creatures measured about 6 inches long, and their furs were in a red-brown color on above. Below, the fur had a gray-brown color.
Pinta Island Tortoise
The Pinta Island Tortoise went extinct more than a decade ago, in 2012, and it was a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise.
The Pinta Island Tortoise went extinct despite the fact that this creature was able to survive a maximum of sic months without any food or water. There are people who enjoy eating this creature’s flesh.
Dr. James Gibbs claims that he wants to continue the species in some form, as he and his team captured some of the genome of the animal. Therefore, he hopes to build a breeding program to repopulate tortoises on Pinta Island.
There are a few actions that we humans can take in order to have a chance at preventing the extinction of animals. For instance, we could combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the impacts on ecosystems and species. We could prevent illegal wildlife trade by enforcing penalties to deter poaching and the illegal trade of wildlife and their products, on the other hand. The examples could continue, but the good news is that it can mostly be up to us.
Tommy’s hobby has always been playing video games. He enjoys competing in video games tournaments and writing about his experience. It’s not a big surprise that he mostly covers the latest trends from the gaming industry.
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