10 types of animals, which destroyed man

The last Tasmanian wolf — marsupial mammal with a dog's head — has died in an Australian zoo in 1936. And although for a long time it was believed that for the disappearance of whole species of animals responsible some unknown infection which marsupial wolves supposedly contracted from brought to Australia for dogs in fact, responsible for the destruction of this species of wolves lies with the person.

Unfortunately, the Tasmanian wolves are not the only species that have been completely or partially destroyed. Yes, in the natural world-the animals come across a large number of threats to its existence here and abrupt climate change, and predators, which must also be something there, and sudden epidemics — but the biggest threat to the animal world always remained a man with his irrepressible thirst for murder. We have selected 10 kinds of animals which have been exterminated by man in order to show what we have lost.

1. Tasmanian wolf

Or marsupial Tasmanian wolf, also known as the thylacine, lived on mainland Australia and the island of New Guinea. The habitat has changed after the New Guinea people were transported Dingo. Last pushed marsupial wolf with his usual habitat, and in our time, he moved to live on the island of Tasmania.

Local Australian farmers considered him a potential threat to sheep and so mercilessly slaughtered the wolves, while paying no heed to where they saw them and did they represent a threat to others.

"Many believe that the cruel and uncalled for extermination of wolves could not lead to the complete extinction of an entire species, and blame some unknown disease that supposedly wiped out the entire population of tillnow," says Thomas Prowse from the Australian University of Adelaide.

However, scientists are very long and comprehensively studied this question using a variety of models, and found that the destruction of the Tasmanian wolves in the response solely people.

Believed to be the last marsupial wolf was killed on 13 may 1930, and in 1936 in one of the zoos in Australia died of old age last marsupial wolf, captive.

The year of disappearances: 1936

2. Woolly mammoth

It is believed that this kind of mammoths first appeared in Siberia circa 300-250 thousand years ago and gradually spread to Europe and North America. Dimensions mammoths were not so huge, according to most not too familiar with the history of the people: they were only a little more than modern elephants.

Mammoths lived in groups that were led by the eldest female, and constantly moved from place to place as an adult mammoth required about 180 pounds of food daily. That's obvious, does not imply retreat.

Fully woolly mammoth disappeared about 10 thousand years ago. Although there are many theories why they died out (loss of genetic diversity, climate change, outbreaks, etc.), current research increasingly inclined to believe that the final blow to this type of mammoths was dealt a hand of a man.

The time of complete disappearance: 10,000 years ago

3. Dodo, or the Dodo of Mauritius

Mauritius Dodo has long been considered mythical bird, the existence of which was completely invented, and in fact it did not exist in nature. But after specially organized Mauritius expedition discovered the remains of birds, society had to accept the fact that the bird existed and the reason for its destruction, it became people.

The Dodo lived on the island for several centuries, it is not fear their natural enemies, which did not exist on the island. That is why the bird was flightless — she just had no one to hide.

The first bird I saw in 1598, the Dutch sailors, and within 100 years it was extinct — tried by travelers themselves, and the animals were brought to Mauritius colonists. Still, think of yourself, how appealing to sailors had dinner with a 20-pound bird, the closest relatives of which are considered modern pigeons.

The year of disappearances: presumably 1681

4. Sea cow

Or Steller's sea cow was discovered in 1741 expedition of Vitus Bering and got its name in honor of doctor of the expedition of Georg Steller, who took the trouble to describe a sea cow from all sides, and that his descriptions are still considered to be the most complete.

Steller's cow lived at the coast of the commander Islands, and had not only small mobility, huge in size and complete lack of fear of man, but tasty meat. The latter was the reason that less than 30 years after its opening, the sea cow was extinct.

The sailors ate the meat, used cow fat in food and for lighting of the skins were making boats. In a word, he used everything he could reach. The trapping and killing sea cows were often unnecessarily cruel and meaningless: "Often, the hunters threw a sea lion with spears, and then gave her to sail, hoping that the animal will die and his body washes up".

The year of disappearances: 1768

5. Pigeon

Pigeon until the early nineteenth century was one of the most common birds on earth, its population consisted of up to 5 billion individuals. However, this number of birds was not enough to pigeons survived. Living on the territory of the modern United States and Canada, passenger pigeon was the subject of active hunting arriving in America, the colonists.

The reduction of the number of pigeons took place more or less smooth pace until about 1870, after which less than 20 years, their number has decreased catastrophically and the pigeon in the wild were observed in 1900. In captivity, the passenger pigeon lasted until 1914, when the Cincinnati zoo died last bird named Martha.

The complete disappearance of the year: 1914

6. North African cow antelope

Cow antelope is a subfamily of a large antelope living in Africa. There are several types, but this particular species has virtually disappeared from the map of the Land by the beginning of the XX century. Hunting them was so active that the last few decades of its existence, the cow antelope found only in really remote places, several African countries, is not completely died out by the middle of the last century.

The year of disappearances: 1954

7. Javan tiger

In the nineteenth century the Javanese tiger met throughout the island of Java and regularly plagued its inhabitants. Maybe it was one of the reasons for the active on him hunting, and maybe something else, but the fact remains: by 1950 alive on the island there were only 20-25 individuals.

And half of these tigers lived on the territory of a specially created reserve. But even this was not enough to save the population, and by 1970 their number was reduced to seven individuals. The exact time of the extinction of the Javan tiger remains unknown, but most likely, it happened in the mid 1970‑ies.

From time to time there are reports that in Java again saw Javanese tiger or even a mother with several young, but no documentary evidence that tigers can still be found in nature, no.

The complete disappearance of the year: circa 1970

8. Zanzibar leopard

The extermination of the Zanzibar leopard at the same time and seem to not like the extermination of other species from our list. Leopard kill, kill purposefully and actively, announced on animal hunting and went to them the whole village. However, this was not done for the sake of his meat or skins and in order to protect the village and cattle from potential attacks animal. The fact that the population of the Zanzibar archipelago was strongly believes that these leopards are associated with witches, the evil witch specially bred and trained these animals to help, and then send leopards to create for them a black thing.

Campaign for the extermination of animals began in the second half of 1960‑ies, and after some 30 years almost Zanzibar leopards left in the wild. Scientists began to sound the alarm in the early 90‑ies of the last century, but a few years the programme for the preservation of the species was curtailed as hopeless.

The complete disappearance of the year: 1990‑ies

9. Pyrenean ibex

One of the four known species of Spanish wild goat, which, unlike the others, was not lucky to survive to the present day. The last known specimen of this species was killed absolutely ridiculous death — he was pinned under the fallen tree.

Scientists were able to take DNA samples, and they attempted to create a clone of Capricorn, but unfortunately, the cloned calf died shortly after birth due to various congenital defects.

The year of disappearances: about 2000

10. Western black rhinoceros

This subspecies of the black Rhino was declared extinct a few years ago. He was the victim of a regular hunt on the territory of its habitat in Cameroon. Most valuable to poachers were considered as Rhino horn, used in Chinese medicine for the treatment of numerous diseases.

Scientists actively sought out surviving individuals of this species, since 2006. However, because during the five years it was not a success, the Western black Rhino was declared extinct. Under the threat of extinction are other types of black Rhino.

A year full of disappearance: 2011