Others
10 Rare Photos and Footage of Extinct Animals You Might Have Never Heard of Before
It’s a shame we don’t have them around anymore today.
Some only think of dinosaurs and other pre-historic creatures when they hear the word ‘extinct.’ But there were many animals that lived until recent history, and humans have been lucky enough to document their existence.
It’s a shame indeed that these animals are no longer around, but it’s still worth getting to know them. Let this be a reminder to us, too, to take care of other creatures as well as our environment. A more responsible and sustainable existence can help us all live together in harmony.
1. Quagga
The quagga, a subspecies of plains zebra, became extinct in 1883. It lived in South Africa up to the 19th century, until its habitat was threatened by the Dutch settlement. The quagga was hunted as forage for the people’s domesticated animals. A few quaggas were taken to Europe and kept in a zoo before it became extinct. The animal was different from other zebras because of the limited pattern of primarily brown and white stripes in its body. The stripes of the quagga were mainly on the front part, and the lower part of the animal was brown, which made it more horse-like.
2. Barbary Lion
The Barbary lion, also known as the Atlas lion or Nubian lion, became extinct in 1942. It was native to North Africa, including the Atlas Mountains. The Romans used the animal to battle with gladiators in the Colosseum. By the middle of the 19th century, their numbers had greatly gone down. The last officially recorded shooting of a wild Barbary lion was in 1942 in Morocco. Some believed a small number of the animal survived until the 1960s, but there’s no proof of this.
3. Golden Toad
The golden toad, which used to be abundant in the north of the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica, became extinct in 1989. It was also referred to as the Monte Verde toad, Alajuela toad, and orange toad. The male golden toad was orange, while the females showed a variety of colors including black, yellow, red, green, and white. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), restricted range, global warming, and airborne pollution may have been some of the causes for their extinction.
4. Western Black Rhinoceros
The western black rhinoceros, a subspecies of the black rhinoceros, emerged about 7 to 8 million years ago. It was once widespread in the sub-Saharan Africa savanna, but its numbers declined due to poaching. The western black rhinoceros were heavily hunted in the early 20th century. Their population grew in the 1930s after preservation efforts were taken, but the number went down again as the protection efforts declined. In 2006, an extensive search was done to locate any individual of this species, but there was no sign of rhino presence over the course of six months. The animal was declared extinct by IUCN in 2011.
5. Passenger Pigeon
The passenger pigeon, which became extinct in 1914, used to flock abundantly over North America. During the peak of their population, the passenger pigeons were numbering around 3 to 5 billion. This creature was very fast and reached speeds of up to 100 km/h (62mph). Hunting, along with deforestation, led to the decline of its population. The last passenger pigeon named Martha died on September 1, 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo.
6. Laysan Rail
Like 
The Laysan rail, a flightless bird that was native to the Northwestern Hawaiian Island of Laysan, became extinct in 1944. It was threatened when domestic rabbits, who caused destruction of vegetation, were introduced in the area. The lack of a livable habitat for the bird drove it to extinction. The last rail was seen on Eastern Island in Midway in June 1944.
7. Caspian Tiger
The Caspian tiger, which became extinct in 1970, was one of the biggest cats to have ever lived on the planet. The average body length of the animal was about 3 meters (10 feet). At one time, the Caspian tiger used to live in the forest and riverine corridors of the west and south of the Caspian Sea. In the early 1970s, biologists tried to search for Caspian tigers in the uninhabited areas of Caspian forests. Several years of searching led to nothing, and the animal was declared extinct.
8. Gastric-Brooding Frog
The gastric-brooding frog was a unique genus of ground-dwelling frogs, which became extinct in 1981. It was native to Queensland, Australia, and it was unique because of its kind of parental care. The eggs were fertilized by the male, and then the female swallowed them. The egg hatches and the tadpoles remained in the mother’s stomach for at least six weeks. During this period, the mother did not eat. And when the offsprings were completely developed, the mother vomited them out. The last gastric-brooding frog recorded in wild was in 1981, and its extinction is attributed to the human’s introduction of pathogenic fungi into their native range.
9. Thylacine
Like
The thylacine, commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, became extinct in 1936 due to intensive hunting by humans. It was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times and was native to Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. The thylacine had the general appearance of a dog, except that it had a stiff tail and an abdominal pouch. It could hunt and survive in even the most sparsely populated areas.
10. Heath Hen
Like
The heath hen was a large North American bird, which was extremely common and was hunted for food during Colonial times. Many speculate that the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving dinner actually featured heath hens and not turkey. By late 18th century, the animal earned the reputation of being the poor man’s food. The heath hen became extinct in 1932 due to intense hunting. The last male heath hen died on March 11, 1932.