The Tyrannosaurus Rex, Tasmanian Tiger, and Steller’s Sea Cow went extinct many years ago due to natural causes or human encroachment on their habitats.
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1. Tyrannosaurus Rex (Extinct 65 million years ago)
The Tyrannosaurus Rex is one of the largest carnivorous animals to ever exist, measuring about 12.8 meters long, 4 meters wide at the hips, and weighing up to 7 tons. T. Rex walked on two legs, with a large skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Its front limbs were small and weak, asymmetrical to the powerful hind limbs. Fossils of T. Rex have been found in North America, dating back approximately 68.5 to 65.5 million years ago. T. Rex was one of the last dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.
2. Irish Elk (Extinct 7,700 years ago)
The Irish Elk is the largest deer species to have ever existed on Earth. Scientists estimate that this deer lived around 5700 BC, approximately 7,700 years ago. The Irish Elk stood about 2.1 meters tall and had antlers measuring up to 3.65 meters long. The primary cause of its extinction was hunting for its antlers rather than for meat.
3. Cave Lion (Extinct approximately 10,000 years ago)
The Cave Lion is an extinct subspecies of lion, best known from fossils and prehistoric paintings. It was one of the largest lion species, standing about 1.2 meters tall and measuring around 2.1 meters in length, excluding the tail, which is 5-10% larger than modern lions. This species went extinct around 10,000 years ago during the last glacial period.
4. Steller’s Sea Cow (Extinct since 1768)
The Steller’s Sea Cow was discovered by naturalist Georg Steller near the Asian coastline in 1741. It measured about 7.9 meters long and weighed 3 tons. Steller’s Sea Cow resembled a large seal with two forelimbs and a tail similar to a whale.
Fossils show that Steller’s Sea Cow once thrived along the coastline from the North Pacific to southern Japan and California. However, human presence in these areas led to its extinction. There have been some reported sightings of animals resembling Steller’s Sea Cow in the Bering Sea and Greenland, though this has not been officially confirmed.
5. Dodo Bird (Extinct since the late 17th century)
The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a flightless bird native to the island of Mauritius, related to pigeons. This bird stood about 1 meter tall, fed on fruits, and nested on the ground. The Dodo became extinct between the mid to late 17th century.
The extinction of this bird species was directly related to human activities. Lacking the ability to fly, Dodos could not protect their eggs from being destroyed by introduced species.
6. Aurochs (Extinct since 1627)
The Aurochs was one of the extinct animal species in Europe. This large animal originated in India about 2 million years ago, migrating to the Middle East and further into Asia and Europe around 250,000 years ago.
The last known Aurochs was a female that died in 1627 in the Jaktorów Forest, Poland, due to a natural accident. The extinction of this species was caused by hunting, habitat reduction due to agricultural development, and diseases spreading among livestock.
7. Caspian Tiger (Extinct since 1970)
The Caspian Tiger, also known as the Persian Tiger, was found in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, the Caucasus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan until its extinction in the 1970s. They had a robust body with strong legs, large paws, and unusually large claws. Caspian Tigers weighed between 169 – 240 kg, while females weighed between 85 – 135 kg. This species was the third largest among known tiger species worldwide.
8. Great Auk (Extinct since 1844)
The Great Auk belonged to the genus Pinguinus, a group of flightless birds that once thrived in the Atlantic region.
The Great Auk stood about 75 cm tall and weighed around 5 kg, making it the largest of the auk birds. Previously, Great Auks existed in large numbers on offshore islands near eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, but were ultimately hunted to extinction.
9. Quagga (Extinct since 1883)
One of the extinct animals from Africa is the Quagga, which once existed in large numbers in the Cape Province and southern Orange Free State. Unlike many other zebra species, the Quagga had stripes concentrated on the front part of its body, fading towards the back.
The Quagga was hunted to extinction for its meat and skin. The last known wild Quagga was shot in the late 1870s. The last captive Quagga died in August 1883 at the Artis Magistra Zoo in Amsterdam.
Tasmanian Tiger (Extinct since 1936)
This is the last species in the genus Thylacinus, originally from Australia and New Guinea. They went extinct in the 20th century and are commonly referred to as the Tasmanian Tiger due to their backward stripes on their bodies.
The primary cause of the Tasmanian Tiger’s extinction was hunting for bounties, along with other factors like disease, human encroachment, and competition with dogs in their habitat. Although the Tasmanian Tiger has been officially declared extinct, there have been some reported sightings of the species.
