10 Rare and Unseen Photos of Animals Driven To Extinction

3Heath Hen – Extinction in 1932

This was a small wild fowl and a subspecies of the prairie chicken found in pre revolution times in the eastern USA from Maine to Virginia. Their numbers dwindled due to rampant human consumption as they made a tasty meal. By the 1870’s only a few heath hens existed on Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of cape Cod in Massachusetts. Although a sanctuary was set up for their protection in 1908, a fire ended up destroying their habitat. The last male heath hen died in 1932.

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4Thylacine – Extinction in 1936

Among extinct animals, the thylacine was a dog like animal that had an abdominal pouch like a kangaroo. They were also referred to as the Tasmanian Tiger because of their markings that featured transverse stripes on their backs. Thylacines were predators native to Tasmania Australia and New Guinea. The animals survived till the 1930’s where the last surviving thylacine was shot in 1930 by Wilf Batty a farmer from Mawbanna. Benjamin was the last thylacine who died in captivity in Hobart Zoo in 1936.

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5Barbary Lion – Extinction in 1942 (in the wild)

As a subspecies of lions, the Barbary lion lived in North Africa and were known as the Atlas Lion. They were known for their dark long colored manes that extended down to their belly. The growth of manes was influenced by temperature and level of testosterone. Having once walked in significant numbers in the wild, the Barbary lions are extinct in the wild with the last one shot in Moroccan Atlas Mountains in 1942.

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6Laysan Rail – Extinction in 1944

A Laysan rail was first spotted in 1828 by Russian sailors in 1828 in Laysan Hawaii. It looked just six inches and was a fearless bird similar to the species in Lisianski. The birds usually fed off scraps of bird carcasses, flies and moths. When rabbits were introduced in Laysan, most of the vegetation was destroyed leading to their extinction. Till 1910 there were about 2000 Laysan rails but the last of them was spotted in Midway in June 1944.

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