CARIBBEAN MONK SEAL
When did it become extinct?
Th e last reliable record of this species is from 1952.
Where did it live?
As its name suggests, the Caribbean monk seal was native to the Caribbean region from the southeastern United States to northern South America, including tropical waters in the Florida Keys, Bahamas, and Greater and Lesser Antilles, and islets off the Yucatan Peninsula and the coast of southern Central American.
(Caribbean Monk Seal—Habitat loss, persecution, and competition with humans for food forced the Caribbean monk seal into extinction.)
Seals, with their thick blubber, are well adapted to the cold waters of the earth's poles and temperate regions, but monk seals, the only truly tropical seals, defy this trend and live in the tropics. inhabit equatorial latitudes that are warm. Only the Mediterranean and Hawaiian monk seals remain among the three species of monk seals. The Caribbean monk seal, the third species, was last seen on Seranilla Bank, between Jamaica and Honduras, in 1952. Christopher Columbus referred to the Caribbean monk seal as the sea wolf during his Caribbean voyages in 1493, a term historically used to describe various seal species, possibly due to their habit of stealing fish from the nets and lines of fishermen. Most of our knowledge of what this animal looked like today is based on a few photographs and observational records from the late 1800s and early 1900s, when at least a few small colonies remained. By seal standards, Caribbean monk seals were not particularly large. Adult males grew to be around 2.0-2.4 m long and weighed 170-270 kg, while females were slightly shorter. This seal was described as a beautiful animal, with grizzled brown fur tinged with grey on its back and fading to yellow on its underside and muzzle. The seal's hood like rolls of fat behind its head were another distinguishing feature. The nails on the seal's front flippers were well developed for hauling its body out of the water, while those on the rear flippers were simpler.
Although this species only recently became extinct and was only captured in a few photographs, very little information on its biology has been gathered. The Caribbean monk seal, like the other seals, had to be a skilled marine predator who was more at home in the water than on land. It, like other monk seals, most likely enjoyed small reef fish and eels, as well as invertebrates such as octopi, spiny lobsters, and crabs. Other than humans, the only animals in the Caribbean capable of dispatching a fully grown monk seal are sharks. Adult seals' agility and keen senses would have made them difficult prey for sharks in the water, though young seals unfamiliar with sharks were probably more vulnerable.
Caribbean monk seals, like other seals, spent a large portion of their time in the water. The moulting season (when seals haul out to dry land and shed their old fur) and the breeding season were the main times for spending extended periods out of the water.
With little seasonal variation in the tropics, the breeding season most likely lasted several months, making it longer than the breeding seasons of most seals. The Caribbean monk seal's young are unknown, though several pregnant females with well-developed fortunes were killed in the Triangle Keys off the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, indicating that they gave birth between early December and late June. Puppies were about 1 m long and 18 kg in weight when they were born, and they were covered in dark fur.
What happened to this Caribbean seal? The only confirmed sightings of this animal in the United States in the 1900s were a few people in the Dry Tortugas between 1903 and 1906, and the killing of lone people by fishermen in Key West in 1906 and 1922. The only other reports of seals from the 1900s came from the Yucatan Peninsula, and one of them involved the slaughter of 200 seals in the Triangle Keys. Due to relentless hunting, the species had clearly declined to very low numbers by the early twentieth century. The Caribbean and its environs also experienced rapid development towards the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. Because there are no land predators in the Caribbean, or none large enough to deal with a fully grown man, This fully grown monk seal had no fear of humans. It was apparently a curious and nonaggressive beast, which made it easy prey for hunters, who killed them for sport. Their meat and blubber were rendered into oil. The seals may have had to compete with humans for food as the burgeoning tourist trade put increasing strain on the Caribbean's marine resources. As the Caribbean's human population grew and demand for ocean products outstripped local supplies, fishermen looked to increasingly remote areas where seals had been forced to retreat. Because seals were regarded as a traditional resource and unwelcome competitors for their fish, the fishermen most likely persecuted the last remaining seals for their blubber and meat, or in self-serving attempts to protect their catch. The monk seal was driven to extinction by a combination of habitat loss, hunting, and food competition.
• Despite the fact that the last reliable sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952, people continue to report seeing this animal. The majority of these sightings are reported by divers and fisherman, but it is highly likely that they are confusing the monk seal with hooded seals, which occasionally stray south from their northern range off Canada, or with California sea lions, which occasionally escape from navy training programs, travelling circuses, or captive facilities throughout the Caribbean.
• The Caribbean monk seal is one of three species of monk seals. The other two species, the Mediterranean and Hawaiian monk seals, are both listed as endangered and declining. Monk seals in the Mediterranean number around 500, while Hawaiian monk seals number around 1,200. Both Hawaii and the Mediterranean are densely populated tourist destinations, and demand for beachfront property places direct pressure on both seal species' habitats. To ensure the survival of these animals, public awareness and active protection will be required.
• Monk seals are a type of true seal that belongs to the pinnipeds family of animals. The eared seals (sea lions and fur seals) and walruses are also members of this group. These semi-aquatic mammals are thought to have evolved from a bear-like ancestor approximately 23 million years ago.
THYLACINE
When did it become extinct?
It became extinct in the year 1936, although unconfirmed sightings are still reported.
Where did it live?
The thylacine was native to Australia and New Guinea, but in relatively recent times, its range was limited to Tasmania, the island off the southeastern tip of Australia.
A short black-and-white silent film depicting an unusual doglike animal pacing up and down in a zoo enclosure is a poignant reminder of Benjamin, the last known thylacine. The film was shot in 1933 at Tasmania's Hobart Zoo, and Benjamin died three years later—some say due to neglect, but whatever the cause, his death marked the end of the species.
The thylacine, also known incorrectly as the Tasmanian wolf or Tasmanian tiger, once roamed the forests of New Guinea and most of Australia, as evidenced by bones and other remains. However, humans arrived in these lands at least 40,000 years ago, and the thylacine extinction began. The thylacine was restricted to the island of Tasmania when European explorers first arrived in this part of the world, and it was already quite rare.
The reason for its disappearance from the mainland is a bone of contention, but Aboriginal hunting is thought to be a factor and, much later, competition with the dingoes that first found their way to Australia via Aboriginal trading with Southeast Asian people around 4,000 years ago.
We know what the thylacine looked like and some of its behavior based on the black-and-white film and numerous photos and accounts. It resembled a dog in appearance, but it was a marsupial, and like all marsupials, it had a pouch; however, unlike some other flesh-eating marsupials, the thylacine's pouch opened to the rear, and it was to this cosy pocket that the young crawled after birth, fixing themselves onto one of the four teats in its confines. The thylacine, as its appearance suggests, was a predator in the same vein as other large, terrestrial, mammalian carnivores, but it had some distinguishing characteristics. Its powerful muscles allowed it to open its jaws very wide, and its muscular, relatively rigid tail, similar to that of a kangaroo, acted as a prop, allowing the thylacine to balance quite easily on its back legs, and even hop when necessary. We can only make educated guesses about the animals it preyed on, but on the Australian mainland, it may have preferred kangaroos and wallabies, whereas on Tasmania, it likely ate anything smaller than itself as well as carrion. What method did the thylacine use to catch its prey? Again, we must rely on accounts from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but these differ, with some claiming the thylacine would pursue its prey over long distances, while others claim it was an ambush predator. Depending on the habitat in which it hunted, it may have used both of these predatory tactics in Tasmania.
The thylacine's behavior records indicate that it was active at dusk, dawn, and at night; however, this behavior may have been unnatural—a response to human persecution. During the day, thylacines constructed a nest of twigs and ferns in a large hollow tree or a suitable rocky crevice, and at dusk, they would leave these refuges in the forested hills to forage for food on the open heaths.
Unfortunately, the thylacine's predatory nature brought it into conflict with the European settlers who began raising livestock on Tasmania's productive island. Even though they were rarely seen, the thylacine was blamed for the slaughter of sheep and poultry. The authorities at the time established a bounty scheme in which farmers and hunters could receive a reward for killing thylacines. This bounty was £1 per thylacine between 1888 and 1909, and records show that 2,184 bounties were paid out, but it is very likely that the bounty went unclaimed on numerous occasions. By the 1920s, the thylacine was critically endangered in the wild, with only a few scattered individuals remaining in its former strongholds. Although human persecution was the final blow for this animal, it was also most likely suffering from competition from introduced dogs and the diseases they carried. Benjamin was the last known thylacine, and the species was declared extinct in 1986 after 50 years with no evidence of any surviving individuals. Many people hold out hope that a thylacine population still exists in Tasmania. Tasmania is a large, rugged, and sparsely populated island, and there is a very slim chance that the thylacine has survived. David Fleay, the last person to photograph a living thylacine, searched Tasmania with a colleague, and the evidence they found suggests that the thylacine survived into the 1960s. Sightings continue to be reported today, not only from Tasmania, but also from the rest of Australia and the Indonesian portion of New Guinea. We must conclude that this enigmatic species is sadly extinct until a live specimen is presented or other irrefutable evidence is presented.
• The arrival and dispersal of Aborigines and the animals they brought with them, particularly the dingo, is attributed to the extinction of the thylacine on the Australian mainland.
The striped coat of the thylacine suggests that this animal was adapted to the forest, but this may only be part of the picture. A drying of the global climate thousands of years ago could have caused Australian forest habitats to contract, forcing the thylacine into areas where it was not well adapted. The loss of habitat was exacerbated by the large-scale changes that occurred in the aftermath of Australia's first human invasion.
• When compared to the wolf, the thylacine is one of the best examples of convergent evolution, which occurs when two unrelated animals from widely separated locations bear a striking resemblance to one another due to similar niches to which they have had to adapt. The thylacine filled the niche of a running predator that is occupied by canid predators in the Northern Hemisphere in Australasia, and as a result, it came to resemble them.
• There are several preserved thylacine foetuses in museum collections around the world, and scientists have suggested that using the DNA from these specimens and cloning technology, it may be possible to bring the thylacine back from extinction.
DNA was extracted from these specimens, but it was badly degraded, and therefore cloning would have been impossible.
CAROLINA PARAKEET
When did it become extinct?
Th e last Carolina parakeet is thought to have died in 1918.
Where did it live?
This parakeet was a wide-ranging inhabitant of the United States. Th e two subspecies of this bird ranged from central Texas to Colorado and southern Wisconsin, across to the District of Columbia and the western side of the Appalachian Mountains, and throughout the drainage basin of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
(Few animals have captivated mankind as long as parrots and their relatives. The Carolina Parakeet is prized by both indigenous peoples in the tropics and people in Western societies. All that remains of the Carolina parakeet are stuffed skins like this one and bones.)
Not only are they beautiful, but they are also playful and some species can mimic the human voice. The inherent beauty and charm of these birds make it difficult to understand why humans would seek to annihilate them, but this is exactly what has happened on several occasions.
The story of the Carolina parakeet, a beautiful bird and the only native parrot of the United States, is one of the most tragic examples of how humans actively exterminated one of these interesting birds. This colorful bird, about 30 cm long and 250 g in weight, was common in the eastern deciduous forests of the United States, particularly in the dense woodland that skirted the region's many great rivers. The birds normally lived in small groups, but larger flocks would congregate in the presence of plentiful food, and it was not uncommon to see 200 to 300 birds in a brilliant, raucous gathering. The Carolina parakeet, like many other parrots, was a monogamous, long-lived species that laid two white eggs in the cavities of deciduous trees. The Carolina parakeet would roost in the highest branches for the majority of the day, and it was only in the morning and evening that the small flocks would take to the wing in search of food and water. It, like other parrots, could use its powerful bill to crack open seeds and nuts, gaining access to their nutritious contents.
The productive lands of North America suited the Carolina parakeet, and this bird brought a riot of color to the continent's deciduous forests for hundreds of thousands of years. The Carolina parakeet thrived even as the first humans to colonies North America encroached on its woodlands. The arrival of Europeans marked a watershed moment in the survival of this species. The Europeans' ways were very different from the American Indians' ways, and they cleared large areas of forest to make way for agriculture. The Carolina parakeet relied on forests not only for roosting and nesting, but also for food. Initially, habitat loss had little effect on the parakeet because it adapted to feed on the seeds of European crops such as apple, peach, mulberry, pecan, grape, dogwood, and various grains. Because of its adaptability, the parakeet came into conflict with farmers, who saw the colorful bird as nothing more than a nuisance. a troublesome pest. The slaughter of the Carolina parakeet began, and it was doomed from then on. Farmers would go out of their way to find the small flocks and kill one or two birds, triggering an interesting behavior that would seal the parakeet's fate: When they heard the gunshots, the birds took to the air but quickly returned to their fallen flock mates, hovering and swooping over the lifeless bodies. The significance of this behavior is unknown, but it was most likely a way of intimidating and confusing predators in the hope that the downed bird would only be injured, giving it time to flee. This was most likely a very effective strategy against predatory mammals and birds, but a man armed with a gun was a very different adversary. The hunter was able to pick off more of the unfortunate birds as the rest of the flock flocked to the bodies of the fallen, and it was not uncommon for an entire flock to be wiped out in this manner.
The years passed, and the Carolina parakeet lost more and more habitat while being persecuted by ignorant humans. To make matters worse, thousands of the birds were captured for the pet trade, while thousands more were slaughtered to supply the hat trade with colorful feathers for the latest in fashionable ladies' headwear. The indiscriminate slaughter and collection continued, and by the 1880s, it was clear that the Carolina parakeet was extremely rare. The last wild Carolina parakeet, a female, was captured near Orlando, Florida, in 1913, and only four years later, the last captive individual, a male named Inca, died in Cincinnati Zoo only six months after the death of his lifelong partner, Lady Jane. They had been imprisoned together for 32 years. The tragic and unnecessary extinction of this fascinating bird mirrors that of the passenger pigeon, and ironically, both species died in a small cage in the same zoo, poignant reminders of human ignorance, greed, and disregard for the other species with which we share this planet.
• Sightings of the Carolina parakeet were reported in the 1920s and 1930s, but these were almost certainly misidentifications of other species that had escaped captivity.
• Parrots are among the most endangered of all birds. There are approximately 350 species of these fascinating animals, with at least 130 of them classified as threatened or endangered. Unless humans can control the systematic and pathological destruction of the world's most biodiverse areas, the future looks very bleak for these birds as well as countless other species.
• Habitat destruction isn't the only threat these birds face. Every year, thousands of parrots are captured in the wild to feed the ever-expanding pet trade, a multibillion-dollar industry. To give you an idea of the scope of the problem, approximately 2 million birds are illegally imported into the European Union each year, with hundreds of thousands of these being parrots.
PASSENGER PIGEON
When did it become extinct?
Th e last known passenger pigeon died on September 1, 1914, in Cincinnati Zoo.
Where did it live?
Th e passenger pigeon was a native of North America, but during their winter migrations, the birds headed south, with some reaching as far as Mexico and Cuba.
Anyone who suggested that the passenger pigeon was on the verge of extinction in the late 1800s would have been labelled a fool. The passenger pigeon once existed in such vast numbers that it is incredible that it is no longer with us. The species was so numerous that there are numerous accounts of the bird and the enormous flocks in the area.
which it collected. Estimates for the total number of passenger pigeons in North America range from 9 billion to 10 billion. If these estimates are correct, the passenger pigeon was undoubtedly one of the most numerous bird species that ever existed. This massive population was not evenly distributed, but was concentrated in gigantic flocks so large and dense that observers couldn't see the end of them. According to some records, the flocks are more than 1.6 km wide and 500 km long—a staggering expanse of hundreds of millions of passenger pigeons. We can only imagine what one of these flocks looked like, but we're sure it was a sight to behold.
Apart from its propensity for forming huge flocks, the passenger pigeon was quite similar in appearance to a domestic pigeon, although it was considerably more graceful, with a slender body and long tail. Although most pigeons are built for speed, the passenger pigeon was a true racer. Its tapering wings, powerful breast muscles, and slender body gave it a real turn of speed. Th ere is anecdotal evidence that these birds could reach speeds of 160 km per hour, although they usually fl ew at 100 km per hour. We know that it is a little bit of something. We know that it is a little bit of something. As the summer arrived in the northern latitudes, the birds would leave their wintering grounds in southern North America and head for the lush forests of the United States and Canada, although their aggregations appeared to be particularly dense on the eastern seaboard. They came to these vast forests (of which only remnants remain today) to raise their young on a diet of tree seeds (mast), forming massive nesting colonies in the tall trees. As with most pigeons, the nest of the passenger pigeon was a rudimentary aff air of twigs that served as a platform for a single egg. Crop milk, a cheeselike substance secreted from the animals' crops that is unique to pigeons, was used to feed the hatchlings.
Th is cycle of migration had probably been going on for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years, but all was about to come to an end as Europeans first arrived in the Americas. Their arrival signaled the end for the passenger pigeon, and many more species besides. Europeans, in their attempts to settle these new lands, brought with them new ways and means of growing food. Th e forests were hacked down to make way for these crops, and the passenger pigeons were quick to exploit this new source of food. Settlers first killed the passenger pigeons to protect their crops, but they soon realized that these birds were a massive source of nutritious food, and the slaughter began in earnest. Th e adult birds were normally preyed on when they were nesting. Trappers equipped with nets constructed smoky fi res beneath the nesting trees to force the adults into taking fl ight. Trees with lots of nests were cut down, enabling trappers to get their hands on the young pigeons. Th e slaughter was senseless and wasteful, with often only the feathers of the birds being taken to be used as stuffing. Of course, the birds were valued as cheap food, and millions of birds were taken by train to the big cities on the East Coast of the United States. It has been said that during the end of the eighteenth century and for much of the nineteenth century, servants and slaves in these big cities may have eaten precious little animal protein apart from passenger pigeon meat. For several decades, passenger pigeons ready for the oven could be bought for as little as three pennies.
By 1896, there were only 250,000 passenger pigeons left, all in a single flock, and in the spring of that year, a group of well-organized hunters set out to find them. Find them they did, and they killed all but 5,000 of them. Only three years later, the last wild birds were shot. The passenger pigeon, once the most numerous bird on the planet, had been wiped out in less than a century.
• It is thought that the passenger pigeon's breeding and nesting success was dependent on a large population. The collapse of populations beyond this threshold was caused by habitat destruction and hunting. With their flocks in shambles and constant nesting disruption, it was only a matter of time before the population plummeted below recoverable levels. Scientists have also suggested that an introduced viral infection known as Newcastle disease may have pushed the dwindling populations of passenger pigeons over the edge.
• The nesting colonies of passenger pigeons were huge, covering an area of up to 2,200 km, which is considerably bigger than the area of Jacksonville in Florida.
• Passenger pigeons were fed to pigs and processed into oil and fertilizer. Although adult pigeons were eaten in large numbers, the young pigeons, known as squabs, were said to be delicious.
• The term stool pigeon comes from hunters' practice of killing large numbers of passenger pigeons. A single bird was captured and its eyes were sewn shut with thread before it was attached to a circular stool that could be held aloft on the end of a stick. The stool would be thrown, and the pigeon would flail its wings in an attempt to land. Other pigeons flying overhead would see one of their number apparently alighting and land in the hope of finding food, allowing the hunters to snare them with nets.
• A large number of passenger pigeon skins and preserved specimens have found their way into private collections, with at least 1,500 preserved specimens held around the world.
• It has been suggested that before Europeans arrived and settled in North America, the populations of the passenger pigeon were held in check by Amerindian hunting. As these people's tribes dwindled, so did their impact on the animals and plants of the eastern United States, and populations of animals like the passenger pigeon grew explosively.
• Passenger pigeon hunting was so intense that in 1878, a single hunter shipped over 3 million birds to the major cities of the eastern United States. Nets and traps caught vast numbers of birds, and a variety of shotguns were used by professional hunters, marksmen, and trapshooters.
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