____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Wooly Mammoth Wooly mammoths are creatures that are similar and closely-related to elephants. They migrated out of Africa 3.5 billion years ago and lived in Northern Eurasia and North America. They were over 4 meters tall and could weigh over 4 tons due to their massive size, large fur coat, and curved tusks that were up to 5 meters long. The cause of their extinction was the loss of their habitat, climate change, and hunting by humans, due to which they disappeared 10,000 years ago. In around 1700 BC, the last woolly mammoth disappeared from Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean. ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. Dodo The Dodo was an extinct flightless bird that lived in Mauritius and was one meter tall, weighing 10–18 kg. Dutch sailors spotted and recorded that they saw the dodo in 1598 but the only information about how they look was from varied illustrations and written accounts from the 17th century their exact appearance is unknown. Their diet consisted of seeds, roots and fallen fruits. They were said to become flightless due to the shortage of food and less predators hunting them. They died due to being hunted to extinction by sailors, their domesticated animals, and invasive species. The last Dodo sighted was in 1662. _____________________________________________________________________________ 4. Tasmanian Tiger The Tasmanian Tiger was a large carnivorous marsupial that was native to Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. They were frequently associated with tigers due to their dark stripes, though they are not related to them at all. Their size was similar to a medium or large sized dog, weighing 30kg with a nose to tail length of almost 2 metres. The cause of their extinction was hunting, human encroachment, loss of habitat, dogs being introduced, and disease. The last wild Tasmanian Tiger was killed between 1910 and 1920 and the last captive one died in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania in 1936. ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. West African Black Rhinoceros The West African Black Rhinoceros was found in several countries in southeast region of Africa.Having two horns, one measuring 0.5-1.3 metres and the other between 2-55cm their massive body measured up to 3-3.8 metres long and 1.4-1.7 metres in height meaning that they would have have weighed 800-1,300 kg. Their diet mainly consists of leafy plants, branches, shoots, thorny wood bushes, and fruit. In 1930, an action was taken to preserve and protect these animals but due to heavy poaching by humans, they went extinct in 2011. The last West African Black Rhino was seen in Cameroon in 2006. |