It is far from a secret that people became the cause of the extinction of many species of animals. When only one animal belonging to a certain species remains, it is called the last representative. When the last representative of the species dies, the entire genus finally disappears. When you look into such an animal's eyes, mixed feelings of solemnity and deep regret arise. Their stories will serve as a warning to us about how fragile the world around us is.
Here is a list of the last 10 representatives of various animal species.
1
The Last Zebra Quagga
The last quagga that lived on Earth died in 1883 at the Amsterdam Zoo. If you mentally imagine the floor of a zebra and the floor of a donkey, then you will be pretty close to the appearance of the quagga. Fortunately, we can look at real photos of this animal, which were taken in 1870. Once upon a time, whole herds of these animals roamed freely through the vast expanses of modern South Africa. The cause of extinction was the hunt for their meat and skin, as well as simply killing for fun.
Thanks to the efforts of scientists in the 1980s, part of the mitochondrial DNA of this unusual animal was restored. DNA was extracted from muscle tissue, which at that time was 140 years old. The extracted DNA was the first known demonstration that cloned DNA can be extracted from long-extinct animals. This opened up incredible opportunities. It is not about creating a Jurassic park, but about the possibility of reproducing a specific genealogical tree in all time periods.
Having studied the DNA of quagga, it turned out that it is closely related to the flat zebra and is a subspecies. Inspired by the interconnected DNA, scientists in 1987 began a project to revive this species by selectively breeding lowland zebras with a decrease in the number of bands. The new species was named Quaggi Rau, in honor of the founder of the project, Reinhold Rau.
2
Caroline Inca Parrot
Would you believe it if you were told that poisonous parrots once lived in the eastern United States? Not? Maybe so, if not for the photo of the last such parrot named Inca, who died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918. These magnificent birds at an early age were mostly green in color, and with their growth beautiful shades of red and yellow appeared on their heads.
The journal article of 1891 describes a peculiar reason why this species quickly disappeared. Herds of parrots often attacked farmland and orchards, sometimes for food, and more often just for fun. Then the farmers began to shoot them.
Instead of flying to a safe place, the birds again returned to farm gardens and fields. This allowed farmers to destroy a huge number of these annoying, and, apparently, fearless birds.
As for the poison, it seems that this property passed to the birds after eating a young cockerel as the main source of food. The composition of these plants includes the chemical element carboxyatractyloside. Once a famous bird watcher, James Odubon, noticed that cats that ate parrots had died. This allows you to add the Caroline parrot to the short list of poisonous birds, including still alive marsupial pituhu from New Guinea, Benin's winged goose and some others.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article about the most beautiful parrots in the world.
3
Pyrenees Capricorn Celia
The Iberian Capricorn was a species of wild goat that was discovered in Andorra, France, and Spain. The last living species was a female named Celia, who, unfortunately, died at the age of 13 after an accident in 2000.
Celia has been well studied by scientists. She was caught in 1999 and her cells were taken from her ear. Scientists knew that in captivity, Capricorn has no chance. She was equipped with a collar with a beacon and released into the wild. Thus, scientists learned about her location, and found her body after she died from a tree falling on her.
A few years later, the Iberian Capricorn was honored to be the first extinct animal to be successfully cloned thanks to cells that were taken from Celia's ear. More than 50 attempts were made to fertilize different species of wild goats by the embryo of the Iberian Capricorn, but only one animal successfully underwent pregnancy. The clone was born by caesarean section. Unfortunately, the cub lived only a few minutes due to a lung defect.
4
Snail Turgi
In January 1996, a species of wood snail died out when the last known Polynesian species Partula turgida died in a London zoo. For scientists, the fact that this was the first case of the destruction of an entire species by a parasite was interesting.
Within 21 months, out of 296 individuals, only one remained. The last snail was called Turgi, which was opened to find out the cause of their death. The response was a parasitic infection.
The tragic story of Turga was not the first and not the last case of extinction of wood snails. In fact, of the 61 species that have been discovered on a group of islands, including Haiti, most are extinct. Some species of snails from the genus Portula are still kept in zoos, but in the wild they have almost disappeared.
The reason for the extinction was the appearance of other species of snails that ate local animals. This has become a good example of how evolutionary processes can occur in the wild in an isolated area.
5
Heather Chicken Boom Ben
Heather chicken was a land bird closely associated with the steppe chicken, a native of the east coast of North America. There were especially many of them in America in the colonial period. The then settlers did not consider the heather chicken to be some kind of exotic bird. It was believed that this bird was the food of the poor.
Some researchers believe that the first birds to be eaten on Thanksgiving were not turkeys at all, namely heather hens.
Despite efforts to preserve the species, a number of adverse circumstances led to a rapid decline in the population. These are forest fires, an increase in the predator population, diseases and harsh winters. But the main factor in their extinction was poor genetic diversity. All the females became extinct, leaving the males pacing alone and showing their mating dances to themselves.
In the end there was only one male named Boom Ben for his loud voice. In one of the 1931 magazines there was an article telling about Boom Ben, who walked around the vineyards, showing his "strange courtship." He was last seen in 1932.
6
Long-legged Tree Frog Rabbs Fortress
The most recent death on our list is the death of Fortress, the last member of a rare tree frog species. He died in 2016 after 11 years in captivity in the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The name "long-legged" comes from the extensive membranes on the toes of the animal, which they used to climb trees.
For tree frogs, they were a large species - almost 10 centimeters. Especially sad is the fact that this species was discovered only in 2008, so scientists had little time to learn about them. The cause of extinction was the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which slowly spread throughout the country. Despite all efforts, animal defenders could not save these croaking amphibians from him.
By the way, some species of frogs from time to time fall into various ratings of the most beautiful animals on the planet.
7
Tasmanian tiger benjamin
The Tasmanian tiger was an unusual marsupial animal the size of a dog. He had a pouch on his stomach, and tiger-like stripes on his back and back. Despite the fact that the species died out more than 80 years ago, it is still the hallmark of Oceania.
Much has been written about the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger, but no one paid attention to poor Benjamin. It turned out that only after his death did people notice that he was the last. For many years, the sex of the last Tasmanian tiger was discussed. The issue was resolved in 2011 after a detailed study of the animal’s photo frames in 1933. It was a male.
In 1936, his death could have been prevented if the guards noticed that the sleeping place was locked and the animal remained on the street in severe weather. He died due to simple human negligence. After no other Tasmanian tiger was discovered.
8
Scaly-necked Moho Kauai O`o
One of the four extinct species of the Moho genus, Kauai has one of the saddest extinction stories. A huge number of these birds once inhabited the Hawaiian Islands. The islanders used their smooth black plumage to decorate their traditional hats.
A number of factors caused the disappearance of these beautiful birds. First, a decrease in the population caused the disease - bird malaria, then an increase in the number of rats, cats and other predators on the island.
It was believed that the last couple of Moho settled on the island of Kauai in the Alakai swamp. In 1982, Hurricane Willow happened, which most likely killed the female. The male lived for several more years. In 1985, one of the enthusiasts was able to tape the mating singing of the last representative of this species. Since 1975, the record can be heard on the Internet.
9
Wandering Dove Martha
The wandering dove got its name from its distant migrations. The number of birds in the billions. Yes, yes, in billions! When the flocks gained their largest numbers, the wandering pigeon was the most populous bird in the United States. They accounted for 25-40% of all birds in the country.
It seems unlikely, but the hunting and ruined habitat reduced the number of these birds to just one between 1860 and 1914.
In 1813, John James Audubon wrote a story about a flock of wandering pigeons in Kentucky. A flock of pigeons for three days in a row filled the air, covering the sun. Odubon compared the falling litter to snowfall. Local hunters could shoot into the air without aiming and bring home enough meat to feed their families. But this abundance, as well as the love of birds for feed crops made them pests. The extermination began. By 1900, in the wild, there were none at all, and in captivity the numbers were rapidly declining. The last dove was called Martha, who died in 1914. So the species that was once considered indestructible was destroyed.
We also have an interesting photo rating of the most beautiful pigeons in the world. Come on in!
10
Pinto Turtle Lone George
We cannot make a complete list of the latest species without Lone George. His story is perhaps the loudest among the rest.
George was found alone on the island of Pinta, one of the Galapagos Islands. For several years they searched for his relatives all over the island, but never found. George was officially declared the last of the sight.
The vegetation of the island was devastated by wild goats and pigs that were left by people. For slow turtles, it became impossible to get enough food for themselves. The rest died, George was left alone.
He was placed in an aviary at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island. There have been numerous attempts to cross George with other species of turtles, but to no avail. All offspring were barren. George died a natural death in 2012 on June 24. He was young enough for a turtle - only 100 years old.
George's death hurt workers and visitors to the zoo, as well as many people around the world. Attempts are now underway to restore the species by cloning.