Woolly Mammoth

True Wild Life | Woolly Mammoth | The woolly mammoth was an enormous mammal that once roamed the vast frozen, northern landscapes in large size. Believed to be closely related to the modern-day elephant, the woolly mammoth remained in the wild until roughly 1700 BC when it became extinct. The woolly mammoth was found roaming the bitter Arctic tundra where they would often gather in large herds for both warmth and protection. Woolly mammoths lived in two groups which are thought to have been different enough to be characterized as separate subspecies. One woolly mammoth group stayed in the middle of the high Arctic, while the other woolly mammoth group had a much wider range.

The woolly mammoth was an enormous animal, with adults often reaching heights of four meters or more. Woolly mammoths in certain areas where, on average slightly smaller in size and could in fact be just half the size of one of the largest woolly mammoth individuals. As elephants do today, the woolly mammoth had enormous tusks which would have been used for both digging and collecting food, and for intimidating and fighting off both predators and rivals. The tusks of the woolly mammoth were often quite dramatically curved and could easily be up to 5 meters (16ft) long.

Like the African and Asian elephants still found roaming the small parts of the planet today, the woolly mammoth was a herbivorous animal meaning that it survived on a purely plant-based diet. Woolly mammoths would have eaten similar vegetation to modern-day elephants, browsing the forests for leaves, fruits, nuts, twigs and berries. Due to the sheer size of the woolly mammoth, it had only one real predator in it's natural environment which was sabre-toothed cats that would often hunt the smaller woolly mammoth calves. Other than human hunters that quickly wiped out the woolly mammoth populations in vast areas of the Arctic tundra, the rapidly melting ice had an enormous impact on their demise.

Although little is really known about the reproduction of woolly mammoths, it is quite likely that in a similar way to elephants, the female woolly mammoth would have given birth to a single woolly mammoth calf after a nearly year long (maybe even longer) gestation period. Woolly mammoths are thought to have had quite a long lifespan, getting to an average of 70 years old. It was generally assumed that the last woolly mammoths vanished from Europe and Southern Siberia in around 8,000 BC, with the last of the isolated woolly mammoth populations vanishing from Wrangel Island, located in the Arctic Ocean in around 1700 BC.

Neanderthal

True Wild Life | Neanderthal | The Neanderthal is an old world, modern primate that is now extinct. It is thought that the Neanderthal roamed the lands of Asia and Europe for around 100,000 years. The Neanderthal traits are no longer found in humans, the last known being 24,000 years ago in Portugal. However, extensive research has shown the similarities between Neanderthal and human.

The Neanderthal cranial capacity was much bigger than modern humans, judging by the size skulls found from the Neanderthal era. This indicates that the Neanderthal had a possible larger brain size. The Neanderthal is known to be smaller than modern humans and only got to around 40 years old at most.

Dodo

True Wild Life | Dodo | The dodo was a medium-large sized flightless bird that was discovered on the Island of Mauritius in the 1590s and was declared extinct less than a century later, in 1681. Despite the turkey-sized body of the dodo, it is thought to have been most closely related to smaller birds such as doves and pigeons. The dodo inhabited the tropical forests on the tiny island of Mauritius that is situated in the Indian Ocean. Like the neighbouring island of Madagascar, Mauritius broke away from the African continent when the land first split, causing it's wildlife to be extremely unique and the dodo is no exception.

The dodo had a large body, stubby wings, a small, curved tail, short legs, and a large beak. The feathers of the dodo were grey, black and white in colour and the large curved beak of the dodo is one of it's most distinctive features. The dodo is a large sized bird that adapted to a life without large ground-dwelling predators, which led to the dodo to behave quite unusually for a bird. Despite having wings, the dodo was unable to fly as they were quite too small and weak to support the rounded body of the dodo. The dodo was also known to have been fearless of the European invaders which ultimately led to the demise of the species.

The dodo ate ripe fruit that fell to the ground, eating the fruit of the Tambalacoque tree (which is often called the dodo tree). This long-living tree is now in danger of extinction since it depended on the dodo for its own reproduction; its seed can only germinate (sprout) after going through the digestive system of the dodo (the seed has a very thick coating). In it's native forests on the island of Mauritius, the dodo had no natural predators until humans landed at the end of the 16th century. But it wasn't just the humans that hunted this friendly and docile bird, the dodo along with their nests where hunted by the animals that humans brought with them including dogs, cats and monkeys.

Due to a lack of natural predators, the dodo evolved to making it's nest on the ground where the female dodo would lay a single egg. The incubation period of the dodo egg is estimated to be between 4 and 6 weeks, when the dodo chick would hatch and be reared by it's mother before becoming independent as it grew older. The dodo was probably thriving on the tiny, safe-haven of Mauritius before it was taken over by European settlers who hunted and ate the dodo, exploiting it's naturally fearless nature. The animals brought along to the island often ransacked the dodo's vulnerable nests, leading to the extinction of the entire species in just over 80 years of human contact.

Stellers Sea Cow

True Wild Life | Stellers Sea Cow | The Steller's sea cow was first discovered in 1741 by explorers that ventured into parts of the Arctic Circle. When they were first recorded, the Steller's sea cow was said to be living in abundance in the North Pacific, however in less than 20 years of human contact, the Steller's sea cow had disappeared from the ocean completely. The Steller's sea cow was a large marine mammal that was found in abundance in the North Pacific. These enormous animals were closely related to the dugong and the manatee still found grazing in the oceans today, but were of considerable size at between eight and nine meters in length.

Steller's sea cows were large herbivores that had a seal-like appearance with a tail which resembled that of a whale. The Steller's sea cow was named after George Steller who discovered the animal and who described it: "The animal never comes out on shore, but always lives in the water. Its skin is black and thick, like the bark of an old oak, its head in proportion to the body is small, it has no teeth, but only two flat white bones one above, the other below". The Steller's sea cow was said to be a tame animal that spend most of it's time concerning itself with munching on kelp, which is possibly what made it so vulnerable later on. However, the Steller's sea cow was also said to be unable to submerge it's enormous body fully underwater making it an easy spot for human hunters.

The Steller's sea cow was a herbivorous animal that would have had a very similar diet to the dugong and manatees still extant today. This toothless animal would have spent the majority of its time grazing on kelp, sea weed and other aquatic grasses that grow in the shallows of the oceans. Before being discovered by humans, the Steller's sea cow would have had very few predators within it's watery world. Large shark species would have been the only predators able to tackle such an enormous meal, but non were more successful at hunting this enormous sea cow than humans who wiped out the entire species in just 17 years.

The Steller's sea cow would have mated and given birth to it's calf in the water (as these marine mammals do not go onto the land). In much the same way as it's smaller cousins, the female Steller's sea cow would have given birth to a single calf after a gestation period that probably lasted well over a year. The sea cow calf would of remained with it's mother until it was strong enough to become independent. Sadly, these remarkable giants of the sea, where wiped out by human hunters almost instantly after having been discovered by explorers. Today, it's smaller cousins are also under serious threat in their native habitats from over-hunting and increasing levels of pollution in the water.

Smilodon ( Sabre-toothed Tiger)

True Wild Life | Smilodon | The Saber Tooth Tigers are some of the best known and most popular of ice age animals. They are among the most impressive carnivores that ever have lived. Two different types of saber toothed tigers lived in the mid-western U.S. at the end of the ice age. One of the most familiar saber tooth tiger was (genus smilodon). These cats had enlarged canines usually associated with the name saber tooth. Their canines were up to 7 inches long (18 centimeters)! The second type is the less known (genus Homotherium). These cats had shorter canines about ten centimeters (4 inches) long. The canines were also flatter at the tips. Some of the differences can be seen by comparing the homotherium cat to the smilodon cat.

 

The sabre-toothed tiger is one of the most well-known prehistoric animals along with giants such as the woolly mammoth. Sabre-toothed tigers roamed the mid-western US and parts of both North and South America and were named for the enormous canines which skeletons show, protruded quite far out of their mouths. Despite it's name, the sabre-toothed tiger was not actually related to the modern tigers that are found throughout the jungles of Asia. It is thought that the sabre-toothed tiger would have roamed across the grassland plains and open woodlands throughout both North and South America where individuals would of varied slightly depending on the area which they inhabited.

The sabre-toothed tiger is one of the best known ice-age animals but little is really known about them as they are thought to have become extinct around 10,000BC which is a long time ago. The sabre-toothed tiger was named for the canines that could grow to more than 7 inches in length and were capable of fatally wounding their prey with one bite. Sadly, the colour of the sabre-tooth tiger is unknown but it is thought that is would of been of a similar colouration to the modern day lion found in Africa (and which it is not closely related to). The sabre-toothed tiger also had a powerful, muscular body which meant that it could quickly catch and pounce on it's prey before using it's knife-like teeth to cause to the fatal blow.

In the same way as modern day felines, the sabre-toothed tiger was a carnivorous animal and would of been the most dominant predator within its environment. Large herbivorous animals such as deer and bison would of been the most common prey of the sabre-toothed tiger along with occasional giant such as a small woolly mammoth should their ranges cross, although their exact diet is unknown. The sabre-toothed cat would of been the most ferocious and therefore the apex predator within it's environment so had no natural predators on the American plains. Humans are thought to be the most likely cause for the demise of this enormous cat and more than 2,000 sabre-toothed tiger skeletons have been found emerged in the tar pits close to Los Angeles.

As with modern felines, the sabre-toothed tiger would of bred in the warmer months of early spring, when after a gestation period that could last as long as 8 months, the female sabre-toothed tiger would give birth to an average of 3 cubs per litter. Nothing is known about sabre-toothed tiger cubs but they could be born blind like the cubs of today's felines. The sabre-toothed tiger is thought to have become extinct more than 12,000 years ago when human settlers first arrived in the Americas, hunting this species to extinction. Although climate change could also be the primary cause for their demise, little however is really known.

7 Extinct Animals

True Wild Life | 7 Extinct Animals | From panthers and pandas to rhinos and tigers, dwindling animal numbers speak of the need to step up conservation efforts – if it’s not already too late. As a kind of wake-up call, we decided to take a look at seven extinct megafauna species captured on camera. With modern photography having only been invented in the 1820s, these snapshots are visible testament to just how recently the creatures shown were wiped out – and a jarring reminder of the precarious situation for many species still left on the planet.

1. The Tarpan

The last Tarpan died on a Ukrainian game preserve at Askania Nova in 1876. A prehistoric type of wild horse that once roamed from Southern France and Spain eastwards to central Russia, the Tarpan died out in the wild in the late 1800s. Reasons for its extinction include the destruction of its forest and steppe habitat to make room for people; hunting by farmers averse to their crops being eaten and mares stolen; and absorption into a growing domestic horse population. There have been various attempts to recreate the Tarpan through re-breeding, resulting in horses that do at least resemble their extinct forebears.

2. The Quagga

 

Another extinct equine beast – this time a subspecies of zebra – the last wild Quagga was probably shot in the late 1870s, while the last specimen in captivity died in 1883 at Artis Magistra Zoo in Amsterdam. Once abundant in southern Africa, the Quagga fell victim to ruthless hunting for its meat and hide, and because it was seen by settlers as a competitor to livestock like sheep. It was the coat of the Quagga that distinguished it best, with only the front part of its body showing the zebra’s vivid striped markings. As with the Tarpan, projects to breed back the Quagga have produced favourable results, visually at least.

3. The Javan Tiger

 

The Javan Tiger was a subspecies of tiger found only on the Indonesian island of Java, until it died out as recently as the 1980s. In the early 19th century, the Javan Tiger was common all over the island, but rapid human population increase led to the destruction of its forest habitat. The Javan Tiger was also mercilessly hunted, so that by the 1950s it is thought fewer than 25 remained in the wild. Following in the tracks of the Bali Tiger, which was wiped out in the 1930s, the fate of the Javan Tiger speaks for the precarious position of the tiger species as a whole. Sightings of the subspecies persist but hopes for its survival are fading.

 4. The Caspian Tiger

Another tiger to vanish in the last century was the Caspian Tiger, the last confirmed reports of which date back to before the 1950s. Recent research suggests the Caspian Tiger was largely identical to the Siberian Tiger, but even if not a distinct subspecies, it yet had its own range and habitat. Found in the sparse forest and river basin corridors of Central and Western Asian, this big cat succumbed to intense hunting by the Russian army, who were told to exterminate it during a huge land reclamation programme in the early 1900s. Farmers followed, clearing forestland, and the loss of the Caspian Tiger's primary prey, the boar, spelled its demise.

5. The Syrian Wild Ass

The last member of this species died at Schönbrunn Zoo, Vienna in 1928. Formerly occupying the mountains, deserts and steppes between Palestine and Iraq, the Syrian Wild Ass disappeared from the Syrian desert during the 18th century, not helped by war between Palestine and Syria. It was eradicated in Northern Arabia during the 19th century, and then became most seriously threatened with World War I, when its remaining habitat was overrun with fighting forces. The rest is history. This smallest of all recent members of the horse family stood just over 3 feet high at the shoulder and was generally light in colour.

6. The Bubal Hartebeest

 The Bubal Hartebeest was a species of antelope that became extinct in 1923, when a captive female died in Jardin des Plantes in Paris. It was once found over much of North Africa, at least as far east as Egypt, where it was a mythological and sacrificial beast. However, by the 1900s its range was limited to Algeria and the Moroccan High Atlas mountains. Hunting throughout the 19th century drastically reduced the Bubal Hartebeest’s numbers, sealing its fate. A fawn-coloured animal that stood almost 4 feet at the shoulder, the Bubal Hartebeest was characterised by lyre-shaped horns that almost touched at the base. A beautiful beast, sadly missed.

7. The Thylacine

It was 1936 when the last Thylacine took its final breath in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania. Or so we think. Extremely rare if not extinct on the Australian mainland by the time of European colonisation, the Thylacine survived on the island of Tasmania alongside close cousins like the Tasmanian Devil. There, this distinctive, large-jawed beast found itself with a price on its head, as settlers blamed it for attacks on their sheep. The Thylacine was hunted to extinction by bounty hunters and farmers, though other factors such as disease, the introduction of wild dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat may have also played a part in the tragedy.

Although commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger or Tasmanian Wolf, the Thylacine was neither feline nor canine: while striped like a tiger and sharing various features with large dogs, this marsupial carnivore was wholly unrelated – and with the pouch to prove it. A favourite in cryptozoological circles, there have been numerous sightings of the Thylacine since 1936 – which continue to this day – though none have yet been confirmed. It will be a rare coup for Mother Nature if another Thylacine is ever discovered; otherwise its most vivid memory will sadly survive in little more than photographic form – another dead hero of the natural world.