Lost world
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Over the centuries thousands of species have been lost as a result of the evolution of the human race. In the hope to raise awareness of the worlds current endangered animals, I will be illustrating extinct species throughout 2018 and casting a light on many of the not-so-famous faces that are now lost from this world, due to the impact of Homo Sapiens.
DODO
Native: Mauritius
Date Declared Extinct: 1681
Cause of Extinction: Killed and/or eaten to extinction.
Fact: Passive, flightless bird that laid just one egg a year.
Fact: Became extinct just 100 years after it's initial discovery when mankind arrived to the island with monkeys, rats an pigs which were too much for the dodos to handle.
stellar's sea cow
Native: Commander Islands
Date Declared Extinct: 1768
Cause of Extinction: Their size and fat made them valuable commodities.
Fact: One of the largest mammals in existence, growing up to 30 feet long and weighing up to 10 tons.
Fact: Slow swimming speed and gentle nature made them easy targets. Within 27 years of their discovery by Europeans they were declared extinct.
bluebuck
Native: Southern Africa
Date Declared Extinct: 1800s
Cause of Extinction:
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Fact: First African game mammal to be hunted to extinction in historical times.
Fact: They're not really blue. Their yellow and black fur creates an optical illusion.
Warrah
Native: Falkland Islands
Date Declared Extinct: 1876
Cause of Extinction: Settlers were threatened by the wolf since they believed it hunted their sheep. They shot and poisoned them on a massive scale.
Fact: The only native mammal from the Falkland Islands.
Fact: First known Canid to have gone extinct in historical times.
Dutch Alcon Blue
Passenger pigeon
Native: North America
Date Declared Extinct: 1896
Cause of Extinction: Commercialised and sold as cheap food, mostly for slaves and the poor. An unregulated hunting campaign on a massive scale.
Fact: Single flocks numbered billions.
Fact: The final flock of 250,000 were killed by a group of hunters who knew it was the last flock of that size.
Tasmanian tiger
Native: Australia and Tasmania
Date Declared Extinct: 1936
Cause of Extinction: Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties. Farmer feared that the tigers were killing their sheep.
Fact: The largest carnivorous marsupial of modern times.
Fact: The last known tiger was shot by farmer Wilf Batty when it was spotted outside his house in 1936.
Native: Falkland Islands
Date Declared Extinct: 1876
Cause of Extinction: Settlers were threatened by the wold since they believed it hunted their sheep. They shot and poisoned them on a massive scale.
Fact: The only native mammal from the Falkland Islands.
Fact: First known Canid to have gone extinct in historical times.