Due to rapid human population growth, many species are facing near-certain extinction. But this is nothing new. For centuries, we have been depriving other species of land and food, forcing them to seek alternatives or simply die. This has already led to the extinction of many species, and all we have left are their fossils, but in some cases, we have video footage and photographs. Here are 10 such rare examples of video footage and photographs of extinct animals.
1. Quagga – extinction in 1883.
The quagga is an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra. It inhabited South Africa from the late Pleistocene to the 19th century. In appearance, the quagga resembles a hybrid of two different species—a zebra and a horse. Its front half has white stripes, like a zebra, and its back half is brown, like a horse.
Quaggas once lived in large numbers in the Karoo of the Cape Province and the southern part of the Orange Free State in South Africa. However, following the advent of Dutch settlement in South Africa, their numbers began to decline. They were hunted intensively, leading to their extinction in the wild by 1878. Some specimens were sent to zoos in Europe, and the last specimen kept in captivity died in Amsterdam on August 12, 1883. (source)
2. Hartebeest's Hartebeest - extinct in 1925.
A sandy-colored herbivore, the Bubalo hartebeest once inhabited the entire northern Sahara Desert, from Morocco to Egypt. These social animals lived in herds of 100-200 individuals, preferring rocky areas with abundant vegetation.
Their decline began in the 19th century, immediately after the French conquest of Algeria. At that time, colonial troops exterminated entire herds at once. The last known herd, numbering just 15 hartebeest, was discovered in Morocco in 1917. The last known hartebeest in the wild was killed in 1925 in Missouri, Morocco. (source)
3. Heath Hen – extinction in 1932.
The heath hen is a small wild bird, a subspecies of the greater prairie chicken. Before the American Revolution, it inhabited the eastern United States, from Maine to Virginia. It was easy to kill and considered quite tasty. As the human population grew, the heath hen soon became a cheap and readily available food source.
However, this intensive hunting led to a rapid decline in the heath hen population. By the 1870s, the only remaining heath hen lived on the tiny island of Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1908, a 1,600-acre sanctuary was established to protect them. But in 1916, a fire destroyed much of their habitat. By 1927, only 13 individuals remained, most of them males. The last heath hen was seen on March 11, 1932, but it died later that year. (1,2)
4. Tasmanian tiger – extinction in 1936
The thylacine was a dog-like animal with a pouch similar to that of a kangaroo. They were also called "Tasmanian tigers" because of the dark, tiger-like stripes covering their hindquarters. Thylacines were apex predators and inhabited Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.
The Tasmanian tiger is believed to have become extinct in New Guinea. Then, about 2,000 years ago, it almost completely disappeared from mainland Australia. It survived in Tasmania until the 1930s. The last known Tasmanian tiger killed in the wild was shot in 1930 by Wilf Batty, a farmer from Mawbanna. The last Tasmanian tiger in captivity, also known as "Benjamin," died at Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936. (source)
5. Barbary Lion – extinct in 1942 (in the wild)
Barbary lions, one of the largest subspecies of lion, once inhabited North Africa. They inhabited the Atlas Mountains and were therefore also known as "Atlas lions." They had long, dark manes that extended from their shoulders to their bellies. The color and length of their manes are said to have been influenced by ambient temperature, diet, and testosterone levels.
«Barbary lions, which once roamed proudly across the Atlas Mountains, are now extinct in the wild. The last known wild Barbary lion was shot in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains in 1942. There were several reported sightings in Morocco and Algeria in the 1950s, but none have been confirmed. (1,2)»