Category Archives: endangered and extinct animals

bali-tiger-Panthera-tigris-sondaica-extinct

The Bali tiger – hunted to extinction

bali-tiger-Panthera-tigris-sondaica-extinct

bali-tiger-Panthera-tigris-sondaica-extinct

The Bali tiger – the first tiger species completely extirpated by humans

Tigers once used to roam the wide regions of Asia from Eastern Anatolia to the coast of the Sea of Japan, from the southern foothills of the Himalayas to the Sunda Islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. At the beginning of the 20th century the number of wild tigers was estimated around 100 000 globally – in 2015, less than 4000 individuals remained in small, isolated populations restricted to around 5-7 % of their historic range.

Based mainly on their geographical range there were 9 tiger subspecies distinguished and recognized until the end of the 1990s; four of them – the Javan, the Caspian, the South China and the Bali tigers – already driven to extinction in the wild by humans during the century.

In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy: based on combined analysis of skulls, morphological, ecological and molecular traits tigers are now divided into two subspecies: Panthera tigris tigris with 6 populations on mainland Asia, and Panthera tigris sondaica with 2 already extinct (the Bali and the Javan tiger) and one critically endangered (the Sumatran tiger) populations on the Sunda Islands.

critically endangered sumatran tiger Panthera tigris sondaica

critically endangered sumatran tiger Panthera tigris sondaica


The critically endangered Sumatran tiger is the only extant population of the subspecies Panthera tigris sondaica
by Bernard Spragg

The number of tigers living in captivity is estimated to be around 10 000 individuals worldwide, most of them are of mixed genetics. Many of them are privately owned and kept as pets (mainly in the US and China).

Date of extinction: The last known Bali tiger – an adult female – was shot and killed by Dutch hunters at Sumbar Kima, West Bali, on 27 September 1937. There have been a few unconfirmed reports of tigers from West Bali in the 1960s, but as subsequent surveys in the late 1950s and in 1960 found no evidence of extant tigers on the island, these individuals were most probably stray Javan tigers swimming the 2.5 km wide Bali Straits from the Baluran Reserve on Java. By most experts, Bali tigers are considered to have gone extinct between the end of World War II and the 1950s – they were the first tiger species completely extirpated.

Balinese tiger extinct killed shot hunting colonist dutch East-Indies

Balinese tiger extinct killed shot hunting colonist dutch East-Indies

A Bali tiger shot around 1916
by Vincent Nijman via researchgate

Range: Endemic to the island of Bali in the Sunda Islands.

Habitat: The Bali tiger used to live in the mangrove forests and savannah of the island.

Description:  The Bali tiger (Panthera tigris balica, now Panthera tigris sondaica) was the smallest tiger of all variations: males were about 220-230 cm long from head to end of tail and weighed about 90-100 kg, females were about 10 % smaller. Their fur was the darkest orange of all tiger races, but with fewer stripes and black spots scattered between them.

sumatran tiger cub jacksonville zoo tiger conservation program

sumatran tiger cub jacksonville zoo tiger conservation program


Sumatran tiger cub in the Jacksonville Zoo
©Copyright ValerieCC BY-NC-ND 2.0 

The main prey of the Bali tiger was the Javan rusa, a deer species common on the islands of Indonesia. Based on the size of their required hunting territory, the tiger population of Bali was probably never more than a few hundred.

The Bali tiger is an important part of the folklore and magic of the island’s people, often appearing in folk tales and in traditional arts. One of the five forms of the traditional Barong mask dance representing the eternal battle between good (Barong) and evil (Rangda) is called barong macan (tiger barong). Barong is the king of the spirits in Balinese mythology, the mask of the Barong macan dancer is shaped like a tiger’s head.

barong macan mask Balinese tiger dance

barong macan mask Balinese tiger dance

Balinese Barong macan tiger mask, mid 20th century
©Copyright Catawiki

Cause of extinction: Tiger hunting used to be a popular sport of the Dutch colonists of the Indonesian archipelago. After they gained political and economical control over Bali at the turn of the 20th century, hunting trips were organized for tourists and ‘sportsmen’ to hunt tigers on the island and the nearby island of Java.

Bali tiger hunting party extinct baron Oscar Vojnich

Bali tiger hunting party extinct baron Oscar Vojnich

Hungarian hunter baron Oscar Vojnich posing with a dead Bali tiger, November 1911 

Meanwhile, the plantations of the intensive wet-rice agriculture occupied more and more area on the slopes of the volcanoes and the narrow alluvial strip around the island, causing significant loss and fragmentation of the natural habitat of the tigers. In 1941, a game reserve (today West Bali National Park) was established in the western part of the island but the area was too small and fragmented to save the Bali tiger from extinction. In fact, today there’s no adequate area of natural habitat on the island of Bali to host tigers…

 

The Bali tiger poster at the top of this post is available in my store on Redbubble, with design variations more suitable for apparel and other products. My whole profit goes to the Sea Shepherd to support their fight to protect our oceans and marine wildlife. 

the-now-extinct-cuban-red-macaw-ara-tricolor

The Cuban red macaw – parrots of the Caribbean

the-now-extinct-cuban-red-macaw-ara-tricolor

the-now-extinct-cuban-red-macaw-ara-tricolor

The Cuban red macaw – Ara tricolor

The Cuban red macaw (Ara tricolor) is one of the several extinct macaw species that once used to live in the Caribbean area. As all these species were driven to extinction by humans before they could have been properly described, identified and classified by modern science, there’s an ongoing debate among ornithologists about the exact number of species, their origin, range and taxonomic relations.

Based on the various theories of the experts there could have been as many as 13 different macaw species endemic to the Caribbean islands. Many of the suggested 13 species are only hypothetical species, mainly based on old descriptions and illustrations – hopefully DNA analysis of fossil finds and further examination of contemporary sources can resolve the identity of these birds one day. There are only three Caribbean macaws known from actual modern physical remains: the Cuban red macaw is one of them.

Illustrations from Walter Rothschild’s book ‘Extinct birds’ (1907): the Cuban red macaw (Ara tricolor) and three hypothetical species: Ara erythrura, Ara martinicus and Ara erythrocephala

Cuban-red-macaw-Caribbean-islands-ara-tricolor

Cuban-red-macaw-Caribbean-islands-ara-tricolor

Martinique-macaw-Caribbean-ara-erythrura-hypothetical-macaw

Martinique-macaw-Caribbean-ara-erythrura-hypothetical-macaw

Martinique-macaw-orange-bellied-macaw-ara-martinicus-hypothetical-species

Martinique-macaw-orange-bellied-macaw-ara-martinicus-hypothetical-species

red-headed-macaw-Jamaican-green-and-yellow-macaw-ara-erythrocephala-hypothetical-species

red-headed-macaw-Jamaican-green-and-yellow-macaw-ara-erythrocephala-hypothetical-species

 

Date of extinction: As between 1844-56 several subsequent hurricanes destroyed their habitat and scattered the remaining population, by the mid-19th century the species was becoming rare on the main island of Cuba. The exact date of the extinction of the Cuban macaw is unknown: based on the accounts of Cuban naturalist Juan Gundlach the last specimens could have survived until about 1885.

Range: Historical records and contemporary accounts show that macaws had been transported and traded regularly between the Caribbean islands and the mainland (South America) both in prehistoric and modern times by Native Americans, and by European sailors and settlers after their arrival in the 15th century; therefore, verification of the original range of macaw species can be rather uncertain. The Cuban red macaw was endemic to the main island of Cuba and probably the nearby Isla de la Juventud.

Habitat: The Cuban red macaw used to inhabit the mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem with scattered trees (open savanna) of the central and western part of the island and the gallery forests of these areas. Many reports in the 18-19th century came from the huge Zapata Swamp located southeast of Havana – today, this area is the best preserved wetland in the Antilles and part of the Ciénaga de Zapata Biosphere Reserve and wildlife sanctuary.

Description: With about 50 cm length, the Cuban red macaw was one of the smallest Ara species. Coloration of its plumage ranged from the red on the forehead through orange and yellow on the neck to brownish-red and purplish blue to the back, the wings and the tail. They had a distinct, white, unfeathered patch around the eyes. Male and female looked similar, as with other macaw species.
Based on the similar distribution of red and blue in their plumage, the white patch around the eyes, their adjoining ranges, and a shared feather mite, one of the closest extant relatives of the Cuban red macaw is probably the scarlet macaw (Ara macaw).

scarlet-macaw-Ara-macaw

scarlet-macaw-Ara-macaw

Portrait of a scarlet macaw (Ara macaw), one of the closest relatives of the Cuban macaw
©Copyright Steven Metildi

There’s little known about the behavior and breeding habits of the Cuban macaw. Their main food sources were probably fruits, seeds and shoots of palms and the chinaberry tree.

Cause of extinction: Several factors have contributed to the extinction of the Cuban red macaw. In fact, the main threats for all parrot species were and are very similar; they are often among the first species to be exterminated from a given locality, especially islands.

great-green-macaw-Buffons-great-military-macaw

great-green-macaw-Buffons-great-military-macaw

The great green macaw (Ara ambiguus), a close relative of the Cuban macaw is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss, hunting and trade.
©Copyright Steven Metildi

Parrots were frequently hunted and killed for food by Amerindians in the West Indies – there are even reports about macaws and parrots being held captive to fatten them. Cuban macaws had a reputation of being especially easy to hunt because of their ‘boldness’ (or stupidity) – the arrival of the European sailors and the introduction of firearms to the islands accelerated the dwindling of the population.

Another main threat was trade: besides being kept as pets locally by Native Americans and colonists, macaws were captured and sent to Europe as popular, valued cagebirds for zoos and private collectors – several of the preserved 19 skins of the Cuban red macaw originate from captive specimens. Collectors usually obtained young chicks by felling the trees with their nest, thereby also destructing the species’ breeding habitat. This practice is still common in Cuba and greatly affects the populations of the surviving parrot species.

As more and more natural lands were cultivated in association with human population growth, habitat destruction also contributed to the Cuban red macaw’s extinction. They were also persecuted as crop pests because they fed on fruit trees.

Once macaw populations were restricted to a few relatively small areas of fragmented habitat, direct hits by storms that would have had no effect on a healthy population proved to be detrimental. In addition, exotic diseases of imported pets and domestic fowls were also very dangerous to the indigenous parrot species that had little or no resistance against them.

 

The Cuban red macaw poster at the top of this post is available in my store on Redbubble, with design variations more suitable for apparel and other products. My whole profit goes to the Sea Shepherd to support their fight to protect our oceans and marine wildlife. 

the-great-auk-razorbill-penguin

The great auk – extinct eponym of the penguins

the-great-auk-razorbill-penguin

the-great-auk-razorbill-penguin

The great auk – the eponym of the penguins

Nowadays when we mention penguins everybody thinks of the flightless aquatic birds of the Antarctic proudly wearing their tuxedos. Few people now that the original penguin – the eponym of these popular birds – was the great auk (Pinguinus impennis): an already extinct species that once used to be fairly well-known by the people of Europe and North America. Actually, taxonomically the great auk and penguins are only distantly related; but when exploring the seas of the Southern Hemisphere European sailors named the newly discovered species due to their physical resemblance to the great auk. The two taxa are widely considered as an example of convergent evolution and ecological corollary.

Date of extinction:  The nesting colonies of the great auk had been nearly eliminated by humans by the 16th century along the European side of the Atlantic and by the end of the 18th century along the American coast. One last nesting colony remained on a remote, inaccessible islet near Iceland – in 1830, the Great Auk Rock was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. The birds moved to the nearby Eldey Rock, where the colony quickly diminished – the adult specimens and their eggs were collected for museums for preservation and display. The last pair incubating an egg was killed on 3 June 1844. The last confirmed sighting of a living great auk dates from 1852, from the shores of Newfoundland.

extinct-great-auk-Errol-Fuller-Last-Stand

extinct-great-auk-Errol-Fuller-Last-Stand

The last stand – oil painting of Errol Fuller, writer and painter, expert on extinct birds
©Copyright Errol Fuller

Range: Once great auks were fairly common in the coastal area on both sides of the North Atlantic, the estimated maximum population was in the millions. They inhabited mainly the colder coastal waters from Greenland and Norway to Canada and Great Britain, occasionally reaching even the warmer seas of the Iberian Peninsula and Florida.

Habitat: Great auks spent most of their lives in the sea, foraging on smaller fish – they only left the water for land when breeding. They nested in very dense colonies on remote rocky islands with rich feeding areas around them, where the sloping shorelines provided easy access to the sea. It is believed that the great auk never had more than 20 breeding colonies – some of the known localities were Funk Island near Newfundland, St. Kilda off Scotland, Geirfuglasker near Iceland, The Gulf of St. Lawrence and Eldey Island.

great-auk-specimen-glasgow museums collection

great-auk-specimen-glasgow museums collection

Great auk specimen of the Glasgow Museums Collection
©Copyright Glasgow Museums

Description:  Great auks were large, flightless seabirds in the family Alcidae; standing about 75 to 85 cm tall and weighing up to 5 kg. In overall appearance they looked similar to their smaller living relatives, the razorbills. Male and female were similar in plumage, with probably a small difference in size. They appeared chubby due to a thick layer of fat necessary for keeping their bodies warm in the cold water. The adult birds had black plumage dorsally, with white breasts, bellies, and undertail-coverts, with some seasonal and ontogenic differences. Their wings had a white trailing edge and in breeding plumage there was a large white patch in front of each eye, which was replaced in the non-breeding period by a broad, white band and a grey row of feathers extending from the eye to the ear. Their bills were robust and ridged and curved downward at the top. The reduced wings were only about 15 cm in length and were used to propel themselves underwater during dives.

Between late May and early June female auks used to lay one egg each year. The egg had a characteristic, elongated shape with a marbling pattern of varying black, brown or grayish spots and lines on a yellowish base. The size of the egg averaged around 12-13 cm length and 7-8 cm across at the widest.

great-auk-eggs-photo-painting

great-auk-eggs-photo-painting

The characteristic egg of the great auk: an old photograph from 1844 from The Auk, the quarterly journal of the American Ornithologists’ Union on the left
and a colored lithograph by F. W. Frohawk from 1888 on the right ©Copyright Wellcome Collection / CC BY 4.0

Great auk chicks had grey down, the black neck of the juveniles was mottled white. They had white rings around the eyes but instead of the white patch of the adults they had a grey eye line extending to below the ears.

Great auks were excellent swimmers, able to evade capture by people in boats. They were able to dive to great depths (even around 100 meters) and could hold their breath for 15 minutes – that is longer than what a seal is capable of. When on land, they walked slowly and awkwardly with short steps.

Turnaround video of a stuffed great auk and its closest living relative, a razorbill
©Copyright Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Cause of extinction: The story of the extinction of the great auk is one of those stories about the endless stupidity, greed and selfishness of humanity that leave you with incomprehension and seething with anger. In comparison to other bird species that went extinct around the same time, the steps leading to the total disappearance of the great auk are quite well documented – especially the last, brutally cruel acts of the 19th century. If you are interested in the details I recommend you reading Errol Fuller’s excellent book: The Great Auk: The Extinction of the Original Penguin.

To summarize: after being intensively hunted by humans at least from the 8th century – mainly for food and fishing bait – this species was eliminated eventually to make pillows from its down, and to provide stuffed specimens and eggs as collectibles for rich Europeans and museums.

A few years ago, an international team of scientists began a discussion about the possibilities of reintroducing the great auk into its former natural habitat by recreating the species using DNA extracted form fossils or preserved organs (edited into the cells of the closest living relative, the razorbill) and implanting fertilized embryos into a bird big enough to be capable to lay a great auk egg.

great-auk-statue-iceland

great-auk-statue-iceland

Life-sized great auk statue by artist Todd McGrain on the Reykjanes headland (Iceland), one of the last known locations of the bird
©Copyright Chuck Reback

 

The great auk poster at the top of this post is available in my store on Redbubble, with design variations more suitable for apparel and other products. My whole profit goes to the Sea Shepherd to support their fight to protect our oceans and marine wildlife. 

burnt-tailed-barb-siamese-bala-sharks

The Siamese bala shark – a victim of aquarium trade

burnt-tailed-barb-siamese-bala-sharks

burnt-tailed-barb-siamese-bala-sharks

Siamese bala shark – also known as burnt-tailed barb

These days, with all the heavy pollution of our waters from different sources and the massive overfishing with industrial methods, capturing for international aquarium trade might be the least concern threat for most fish species, but for some freshwater fish endemic only to a limited area of one or two river basins it can be a deciding factor in survival or extinction. The Siamese bala shark (Balantiocheilos ambusticauda) a.k.a burnt-tailed barb happens to be one of these species – this freshwater cyprinid fish is listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered, possibly extinct in the 1970s.

Date of extinction: The last confirmed sighting of the species in the wild dates from 1974, although well-known Thai freshwater fish explorer Kittipong Jaruthanin reportedly found some specimens in 1986 in their natural habitat at the Cao Phraya River near Bangkok. All surveys carried out since the 1980s covering the whole confirmed range of the species failed to find any specimens and there are no living specimens in captivity either. Given the estimated generation length of around 10 years, the Siamese bala shark is most probably extinct.

Range: Authentic specimens are known only from Thailand, from the river basins of the Mae Khlong and Chaou Phraya. Reports from the Mekong basin in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos were most probably false – the species can be easily mistaken for the closely related B. melanopterus.

Habitat: The Siamese bala shark used to inhabit freshwater wetlands (lowland riverine and marshland floodplains). There’s very little known about the needs and life cycle of the species.

Description: Taxonomically the Siamese bala shark (Balantiocheilos ambusticauda) is not a true shark, the common name only refers to the body-shape and fins of the species strongly resembling the characteristic shape of sharks.

Silver-shark-closely-related-to-siamese-bala-shark

Silver-shark-closely-related-to-siamese-bala-shark

Bala sharks are not true sharks
©Copyright Gogo78 CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Balantiocheilos-melanopterus-aquarium

Balantiocheilos-melanopterus-aquarium

The silver shark or tricolor sharkminnow (Balantiocheilos melanopterus) is an endangered species
©Copyright Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

The Siamese bala shark is closely related to the well-known aquarium fish Silver shark (Balantiocheilos melanopterus, an endangered species) and was recognized as a separate species only in 2007, based on a holotype collected in 1967.

According to Biotaxa/Zootaxa: “Balantiocheilos ambusticauda…can be distinguished from its only congener, B. melanopterus, in having a shorter snout (27.5–33.9% HL vs. 33.2–39.1), posteriorly directed grooves at rictus curved (vs. straight), and narrower black margins on the pelvic and anal fins (on distal third or less vs. on distal half or more).” Bala sharks will grow to a maximum length of around 35 cm.

To my best knowledge, all photographs on the internet labeled as Siamese bala shark show the Silver shark in fact.

Video of a silver shark shoal in aquarium By Paul Talbot http://www.majesticaquariums.com.au

Cause of extinction:  Besides overfishing for international aquarium trade up until the 1980s, the changing agricultural methods applying more and more insecticides and chemical fertilizers and the building of dams for water management caused the extinction of the Siamese bala shark by decreasing the habitat of the species and causing significant deterioration in water quality.

The Siamese bala shark poster at the top of this post is available in my store on Redbubble, with design variations more suitable for apparel and other products. My whole profit goes to the Sea Shepherd to support their fight to protect our oceans and marine wildlife. 

madeiran large white butterfly Pieris brassicae wollastoni European endemic species laurel forest last seen 1970s island of Madeira

The Madeiran large white butterfly – last seen in the 20th century

madeiran-large-white-butterfly

madeiran-large-white-butterfly

Madeiran large white butterfly

The Madeiran large white butterfly is one of the many species that were last seen in the 20th century. We can’t absolutely be sure about the extinction of these species – the IUCN Red List assesses them usually as critically endangered, possibly extinct – but in the case of this butterfly unfortunately it’s rather certain that there is no hope anymore: since the end of the 1980s there were several searching attempts organized to find living specimens on the relatively small island of Madeira – all unsuccessful.

Female Madeiran large white

Female Madeiran large white

Female Madeiran large white
©Copyright Antonio Aguiar via Arkive

male Madeiran large white

male Madeiran large white

Male Madeiran large white
©Copyright Antonio Aguiar via Arkive

Date of extinction: Many sites list 1977 as the date of the last confirmed sighting – in fact, the last specimens of the species were collected in 1986 (Antonio Aguiar).

Range: Endemic to the Macaronesian island of Madeira.

Habitat: The Madeiran large white used to live in the laurisilva (laurel forests) of the north-exposed valleys of the island where many nectar-rich plants like thistles and knapweed and diverse types of crucifers – the preferred host plants of the larval stage – grow.

Description: The Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) was considered for many years as a subspecies of the fairly common Large white (Pieris brassicae) – the cabbage butterfly, but it is now regarded as a good species of its own. It was first described in 1882 and – as its name suggests – it had considerable size: 67 -72 mm wide white wings with dark tips and spots on the forewings (females were colored more yellowish, with more spots than the males). The caterpillars were green with black lumps and yellow stripes on the upper part of the body. They used to produce several generations a year from March until late October.

description-Madeiran-large-white-butterfly-Butler-1882

description-Madeiran-large-white-butterfly-Butler-1882

First description of the Madeiran large white
by Butler in 1882 from the Annals and Magazine of Natural History

The Madeiran large white is one of the species featured on a stamp collection issued in 1997 about the butterflies of the island.

Madeiran-Large-White-Pieris-brassicae-wollastoni

Madeiran-Large-White-Pieris-brassicae-wollastoni

 

Cause of extinction: Continuing decline in the area, extent and quality of the natural habitat and possibly a parasitoid wasp or an outbreak of virus infection caused by introducing the small white (Pieris rapae) to Madeira in the 1970s were the most important factors leading eventually to the extinction of the subspecies.

My special thanks to Mr. Antonio Aguiar for his expert help.

 

The Madeiran large white butterfly poster at the top of this post is available in my store on Redbubble, with design variations more suitable for apparel and other products. My whole profit goes to the Sea Shepherd to support their fight to protect our oceans and marine wildlife. 

dodo the emblem of extinction

Dodo – the emblem of extinction

dodo the emblem of extinction

dodo the emblem of extinction


Dodo – the emblem of extinction

The dodo is probably the most famous in the long line of extinct animals of the last few hundreds of years. Being the species that made humankind realize the fact that an animal can actually and permanently disappear from existence because of the impacts of human civilization made the dodo a generally known icon of extinction; and appearing as a character in Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and in the popular animated movie franchise Ice Age established its prominent position in modern pop culture.

Date of extinction: The last widely accepted sighting of a dodo dates to 1662.

Range: The dodo was endemic to Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean about 2000 km off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar.

Habitat: Natural rainforests at the coastal area of the volcanic island with tropical, humid climate.

Cause of extinction: With the arrival (1598) and settling of the Dutch sailors, the rainforests of the island were gradually destroyed and replaced by plantations of imported crops (sugar cane, rice, tobacco, citrus trees etc.) to cater to the needs of the drastically increasing human population. With its natural habitat disappearing rapidly, the flightless, tame bird was hunted to extinction by the predators – dogs, cats, rats, pigs and macaques – introduced to the island by the settlers. According to prevalent opinion the settlers themselves also consumed the dodo’s meet, though recent archaeological investigations have found scant evidence of human predation.

George Edward's Dodo painting

George Edward’s Dodo painting


One of the most copied but incorrect depictions of the dodo:
Roelant Savory’s painting of ornithologist George Edwards’ stuffed specimen, around 1620

Description: Recent scientific examinations also show that the common portrayal of the dodo in literature and pop culture as the archetype of the plump, gluttony, dumb(ish) bird is largely incorrect. Descriptions about the bird from the 17th century are contradictory regarding the details (colors, plumage, tail, beak etc.) of its look, with only a few – rather poor quality – drawings made of wild individuals. The numerous depictions created in the later centuries either copy the few originals made of living dodos brought to Europe and overfed in captivity or were made of badly stuffed specimens. These stuffed specimens were all damaged or lost during the centuries until only a dried head and a foot remained with soft tissue (in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History); along with a few dozen of incomplete and composite skeletons und subfossils mainly found in the excavations of the Mare aux Songes swamp in Southern Mauritius around 1865 and 2005.

Dodo skeleton Durrell Wildlife Park

Dodo skeleton Durrell Wildlife Park


A composite dodo skeleton from the Durrell Wildlife Park,
© Josh More – www.starmind.org 

Based on the scientific and forensic examinations of these remains and the few legit depictions of living specimens in the 17th century in Europe and India, dodos were neither particularly fat nor dumb – their build and brain size agrees with the parameters of bird species living in similar habitats and conditions. The dodo was about 1 meter tall and weighed about 15 kg; his closest relatives are Asian pigeons but the dodo adapted perfectly to a life on an isolated island with no predators and evolved to a flightless bird with short wings, a bulky body, stubby, strong legs and strong, crooked beak.

accurate dodo depiction Mughal Ustad Mansur India

accurate dodo depiction Mughal Ustad Mansur India


One of the few more accurate dodo depictions from India
by Ustad Mansur c. 1625

However, as the skeletons don’t really provide any clue about the outer details, fact is that after 350 years of its disappearance we have only speculations about how exactly the dodo could look like…

 

The dodo poster at the top of this post is available in my store on Redbubble, with design variations more suitable for apparel and other products. My whole profit goes to the Sea Shepherd to support their fight to protect our oceans and marine wildlife. 

12 images for environmental awareness

Nature, wildlife, animals, and environmental awareness were a natural part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I was growing up reading Gerald Durrell’s books; with my family going every weekend on long hikes in the surrounding woods and mountains; and taking home every kinds of stray, wounded or abandoned animals from fallen, injured nestlings to baby bunnies thrown out after Easter (I have to admit though that our parents weren’t always completely enthusiastic about this habit…).
Through this connection with nature and animals, being aware of the impacts our everyday life and human activity in general has on our environment became also a part of our consciousness: my sister and I learned at a very young age about issues like the diminishing rainforests and the increasing pollution of our oceans, and about how to do our best to lessen or avoid the harm we cause to our planet.

critically endangered animals

critically endangered animals

And I remember that even as a kid I was constantly stunned – and enraged – by how little the vast majority of our peers, their parents and our teachers knew and cared about these things. I remember a particular conversation I had as a teenager trying to explain the importance of preserving the Amazon forest to my friends and I remember how they dismissed my reasoning labeled as naive, unimportant and exaggerated.

extinct animals last seen in the 20th century

extinct animals last seen in the 20th century

More than 20 years later, as humankind almost succeeded to literally smother a whole planet into its waste, with desperate warnings about global warming and plastic pollution screamed at us from the media, and internet petitions circling on Facebook, one would think this behavior has generally changed.

Well, it hasn’t. Although there has been some advancement regarding environmental awareness and there are more and more people who do everything and beyond to save and protect what is still left of the planet, most people I know aren’t even willing to collect their waste selectively.

animals endangered by human activity industrial overfishing deforestation agriculture dams

animals endangered by human activity industrial overfishing deforestation agriculture dams

I don’t get this attitude, I never will. I could go on for pages about the reasons, but it doesn’t lead anywhere. I don’t know if being appreciative of the beauty and diversity of our planet and its wildlife or feeling responsible for the harm we cause to other living beings can be taught – I can’t imagine my sister or I could have turned out any other way, and I know a lot of people who didn’t have the kind of family background we had growing up and still think the same way as we do.

My niece is about 10 years old; she loves animals and nature, knows a lot about wildlife conservation and environmental issues and does what she can on her level. But most of her friends and classmates (and their parents and teachers…) have basically no idea or just don’t think these things are important – same story again.  And I see that most of the kids would be inherently interested and would care but with the practically non-existent school education about these subjects and without proper behavior patterns from the parents it’s a lost case.

recently extinct animals 21st century

recently extinct animals 21st century

It has been my conviction for a long time that making environmental consciousness a fundamental part of education at school in every country would be crucial – but I‘m not in a position to achieve this. So – as I’m working partly in graphic design – I created my poster series about endangered and extinct animals. My main intention was to try to give a useful tool to help dedicated parents, teachers or communities who’d like to do something to get the kids’ attention and get them involved – and maybe, hopefully, their parents too (yes, I’m still naive…).

extinct bird species

extinct bird species

The poster series features 12 endangered and 12 already extinct animals. It’s not a random collection: I selected the species very thoughtfully to give the opportunity to cover as many aspects of environmental issues and wildlife conservation as possible. With the help of the posters the kids can learn about these animals and on their example it’s easy to talk about a wide range of topics: about the impacts of pollution and global warming; about how human activity like agriculture, deforestation, building dams and roads etc. changes the habitat of animals; about how overfishing and industrial fishing like netting kills marine wildlife; about poaching and holding wild animals captive for the sake of human entertainment or hobbies; about the vulnerability of islands to invasive species; about the utmost importance of clear waters; and about general things like how an ecosystem works, how can the tiniest element of a system be as significant as the biggest, and why it is so important to maintain the balance.

And, of course, about the possibilities of wildlife conservation and preserving or restoring the health of our environment: everyday acts like conscious buying choices, reducing plastic waste, recycling and sparing resources, using renewable energy; scientific methods from inventing non-polluting or biodegradable materials to resurrecting already extinct or critically endangered species by captive breeding programs and cloning.

animals endangered by illegal trade and poaching

animals endangered by illegal trade and poaching

The posters portray a wide range and diversity of species: mammals, birds, fishes, insects; amazing, cute, weird or cool animals; well known, emblematic and relatively unknown species; endemic and global species; species of islands and continents, oceans, seas and rivers, forests and grasslands, mountains and lowlands; recently and hundreds of years ago extinct animals from all around the planet.

The abbreviation and year under the name refers to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List category of the species: EX – extinct, CR – critically endangered, EN – endangered.

I made the posters available by setting up a store on RedBubble, with a small profit that goes entirely to the Sea Shepherd to support their efforts to save our oceans and marine wildlife. I’ve also made some design variations more suitable for t-shirts and other products: they are also available in the store.

animals hunted to extinction

animals hunted to extinction

Whether I believe my idea could work, and 12 images could really make any difference?
I don’t know – it’s just a tool, and without dedicated people who put their time, efforts and knowledge in using these posters they are just decoration. But even then, if a kid spends every day in a classroom with these posters on the wall it’s more likely s/he will pay attention and start to ask questions…I think at this point the only chance we have is to make sure that future generations are brought up with an attitude that makes sure they are precisely and painfully aware of the consequences of their everyday acts, that the human race is part of the intricate ecosystem of the Earth, and that each and every individual is personally responsible for the future our planet has – or doesn’t have.

endangered species with successful conservation efforts

endangered species with successful conservation efforts

 

I keep publishing informative posts about each species, please check the ‘Endagered and extinct animals’ category