10 animals declared extinct in the 21st century

10 animals declared extinct in the 21st century Form 9 Teacher – kateryna sotnyk

1. Pinta Island Tortoise, Chelonoidis abingdoni, 2012

The Pinta tortoise was thought to be extinct in the mid-1900s when its previously pristine habitat in the northern regions of the Galapagos Archipelago was overrun by fishermen – and the goats they introduced to the remote island to provide fresh meat after long fishing voyages. The goats quickly overran the ecosystem, including the tortoise's sole habitat, and by 1970 an estimated 40,000 goats lived on the island. To researchers’ surprise, a Hungarian scientist found a lone tortoise on Pinta Island in 1971: Lonesome George. Researchers searched Pinta and zoos across the world with the hope of finding a mate for George, but could not find any other Pinta Island tortoises. Scientists at Yale University have since studied the genetics of these giant Galapagos tortoises, and found several tortoises on Wolf Volcano that are half Pinta. Scientists are hoping to restore these newly-discovered hybrid tortoises to Pinta Island. The last Pinta Island tortoise, Lonesome George, died at the Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island of the Galapagos Islands in 2012. Although George became extremely overweight while in captivity, he died in relatively good health at over 100 years old.

2. Eastern Cougar, Puma concolor couguar, 2015

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began a formal review of the eastern cougar in 2011, 36 years after it was first classified as endangered. The eastern subspecies, known variously as ghost cat, catamount, puma, painter, panther, mountain lion, and cougar, originally hunted from southern Canada to the tip of South America. Once the most widely distributed land mammal in the Western hemisphere, cougars have been eliminated from about two-thirds of their original range. Two other subspecies, western cougars and Florida panthers, still maintain breeding populations. The USFWS concluded in 2011 that there was no evidence of the eastern cougar living within its once enormous habitat. Experts suggest the cougars’ decline began when European immigrants starting killing the animals to protect their families and livestock. Although the eastern cougar has been declared extinct, the Florida and western subspecies populations have grown in recent decades, and some are expanding their range into their extinct cousins' terrain."Many people have seen cougars in the wild within the historical range of the eastern cougar," said Martin Miller, the northeast regional chief of endangered species for the USFWS, in 2011. "However, we believe those cougars are not the eastern cougar subspecies. We found no information to support the existence of the eastern cougar."

3. Pyrenean Ibex, Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica, 2000

The Pyrenean ibex, also called the bucardo, was one of four subspecies of the Spanish ibex. Endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, male ibex were known for their large curving horns. The surfaces of the horns were ridged, and experts believe that the male ibex grew a ridge a year with the total horn corresponding to the ibex’s age. Female Pyrenean ibex are said to have looked very similar to female deer. Definite reasons for the their extinction are unknown, but hunting had continuously shrunk the population over the past 200 years. Experts also suggest that introduced species such as domestic goats, cattle, and horses contributed to the decline. The last bucardo, a female named Celia, was killed in 2000 after it was hit by a falling branch. Since Celia’s death, scientists have been working on a cloning experiment in hopes of restoring the Pyrenean ibex. Using frozen skin samples taken from Celia in 1999, scientists made more than 50 cloned embryos by inserting the ibex’s DNA into empty domestic goat eggs. Only one was carried to term, and it lived only a few minutes.

4. Formosan Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa brachyura, 2013

Since 2000, scientists have been searching for the Formosan clouded leopard. The giant cats were a subspecies of the clouded leopard, endemic to Taiwan. Their decline was caused by habitat destruction and overhunting for their skins, say IUCN scientists. Clouded leopards prefer to live in closed, primary evergreen tropical rainforests in Southeast Area, a habitat that is experiencing the world’s fastest deforestation. Zoologist Chiang Po-jen, a research fellow with the Mammalogical Society of Taiwan, is part of a team that has searched for the Formosan clouded leopards for the last 13 years.“A forest with clouded leopards and a forest without clouded leopards mean something different. A forest without clouded leopards is ... dead,” Dr. Chiang told the Taipei Times in 2013. A related subspecies of couded leopards live in the Himalayas, but the IUCN fears they are also vulnerable to extinction.

5. Vietnamese Rhino, Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus, 2010

Although the IUCN has listed the Vietnamese Javan Rhino as critically endangered since 2008, experts believe this subspecies of the Javan rhinoceros is now extinct. DNA analysis of rhino dung in Vietnam’s Cát Tiên National Park in 2009 confirmed that only one rhino lived in this area. Experts continued to monitor this 15-25 year old female until she was shot and killed in April 2010. The last known Vietnamese rhino was found with her horn removed, evidence that she was killed by poachers. “It is painful that despite significant investment in Vietnamese rhino conservation, efforts failed to save this unique animal,” WWF’s Vietnam director Tran Thi Minh Hien told the BBC. “Vietnam has lost part of its natural heritage.”Of the two other Javan rhino populations, the subspecies found in northeastern India and Bangladesh has already been declared extinct and the subspecies found on Java, Indonesia is critically endangered, with about 50 individuals.

6. Christmas Island Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus murrayi, 2009

The last known Christmas Island pipistrella went missing in August 2009, and none has been located since. This tiny bat species was endemic to Christmas Island, Australia. Scientists are puzzled by its decline, as their native habitat has remained essentially unchanged over the past 20 years. The recent increase of Yellow Crazy Ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) may have exacerbated the situation, but the last studied individuals appeared to be in good health. Pipistrelles typically roosted under bark and dead foliage in tropical, closed-canopy rainforest and fed on small flying insects such as moths and beetles. Experts are confident that the Christmas Island pipistrelle is extinct because as the only microbat on the island, it is easily spotted with ultrasonic bat detectors. Long-term monitoring from these instruments showed that the tiny bats experienced a 90 percent decline between 1994 and 2006. Although it is not confirmed, the IUCN is confident that this species is extinct.

7. Chinese Paddlefish, Psephurus gladius, 2007

Because the Chinese paddlefish lived only in the Yangtze River in China, they began a steep decline after the construction of the Gezhouba Dam in 1981 in the middle of the Yangtze. The dam blocked the migration route of the Chinese paddlefish, preventing adult fishes from reaching their spawning grounds in the upper part of the river. Their long lifespan also worked against them, as their late sexual maturation meant the population would take longer to recover from a decline. Moreover, paddlefish swam in schools along the river, making them an easy catch for fishing nets. Although the species has been listed as "critically endangered" since 1996, no individual Chinese paddlefish has been seen for over 10 years, despite repeated searches. The last recorded individuals were two adult females in 2003, and no young paddlefish have been seen since 1995. Although it is not confirmed, the IUCN suggests this species is extinct.

8. Yangtze River Dolphin (Baiji Dolphin), Lipotes vexillifer, 2008

The IUCN listed the baiji as critically endangered in 2008, naming it “the most threatened cetacean in the world,” and experts believe the baiji is now extinct. In the 20th century, this species was identified in a number of Chinese rivers, but by the turn of the 21st century, the baiji lived only in the Yangtze. The last documented sighting of a Yangtze river dolphin was in 2002. By 2006, extensive studies using a hydrophone to listen for the dolphin’s whistles failed to find a single dolphin in the Yangtze. Many factors contributed to the baiji’s decline. Electric fishing, which is strictly banned but is still widely practiced in the Yangtze, killed many dolphins and their food supply. Dams prevented their movement upstream and blocked tributaries, depleting fish supplies. Pollution, in the form of 16 billion cubic meters of wastewater discharged into the river annually, also played a role.

9. Golden Toad, Incilius periglenes, 2004

Researchers believe this species lived only in the Reserva Biologica Monteverde, Costa Rica, in a narrow elevation band between 5,000 and 5,300 feet above sea level. It bred in temporary pools at the beginning of each year's rainy season. The IUCN listed the golden toads first as critically endangered in 1996, then as extinct in 2004. In 1988, only eight males and two females could be located, despite extensive searches. Monteverde's scientist in residence, Dr. Alan Pounds, concluded that increased temperatures caused by global climate change created ideal conditions for the chytrid fungus, which is deadly to amphibians and could have wiped out the golden toad population.

10. Western Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis longipes, 2011

Despite an extensive search for the Western Black Rhino in 2006, experts failed to find any trace of rhino dung or footprints in its last known range state of Cameroon. The IUCN had listed the Western Black Rhinoceros as "critically endangered" from 2000-2008 and officially declared the species extinct in 2011. During their searches, researchers found evidence of widespread wildlife poaching. Local rhino monitors, paid to protect the animals from poachers, were caught faking rhino footprints."Given the wildlife poaching taking place, lack of political will and conservation effort by Cameroon conservation authorities in the past, and increasing illegal demand for rhino horn and associated increased commercial rhino poaching in other range states, it is highly probable that this subspecies is now extinct," says the IUCN.

Complete the table{5 C22544 A-7 EE6-4342-B048-85 BDC9 FD1 C3 A}Name Location. Number of representatives of the species. Date of extinction. Details Pinta Island Tortoise. The Galapagos Islands By 1970 an estimated 40,000 goats lived on the island2012 Last tortoise died in relatively good health at over 100 years old

Complete sentences with names of representatives of species. 1. _______ was one of four subspecies of the Spanish ibex.2. Despite an extensive search for ______ in 2006, experts failed to find any trace of rhino dung or footprints in its last known range state of Cameroon.3. In the 20th century, ______ was identified in a number of Chinese rivers.4. The IUCN listed ______ first as critically endangered in 1996, then as extinct in 2004.5. Experts are confident that ______ is extinct because as the only microbat on the island, it is easily spotted with ultrasonic bat detectors. 6. ______ prefer to live in closed, primary evergreen tropical rainforests in Southeast Area, a habitat that is experiencing the world’s fastest deforestation.

Are these statements true or false?1. The last Pinta Island tortoise died at the Tortoise Breeding in relatively good health at over 100 years old.2. The Pyrenean ibex, also called the bucardo, was one of seven subspecies of the Spanish ibex.3. Clouded leopards prefer to live in closed, primary evergreen tropical rainforests in Southeast Area.4. The last known Christmas Island pipistrella went missing in August 2019, and none has been located since.5. paddlefish swam in schools along the river, making them an easy catch for fishing nets. 6. The last documented sighting of a Yangtze river dolphin was in 2012.