Wake Up Call: 8 Animals That Went Extinct This Decade
Dec 31, 2019 • Bianca Katipunan
We are losing about 10,000-100,000 species a year which is higher than the natural extinction rate. The main reason for the rapid extinction rate is humans, illegal logging, illegal fishing, and pollution are some of the reasons why these species are disappearing. We need to wake up and take action because it’s not just animals we are talking about but the balance in our Ecosystem. We’ve listed down some species that have gone extinct this decade.
Finsch’s Duck
Via nzbirdsonline
The once common duck in New Zealand is now gone, the Finsch’s duck closely related to the maned duck but it is much larger. The reason why the Finsch’s Duck got extinct is because of human hunting and predation by other species.
Christmas Island Pipistrelle
Via New Scientist
The Christmas Island Pipistrelle was a type of vesper bat found on Christmas Island in Australia. Due to the predation of other animals, this rare bat was declared extinct in 2009.
Plectostoma Sciaphilum
Via Mongaby
This rare snail was found on a single limestone karst at Bukit Panching in Peninsular Malaysia. When the karst was quarried in 2007, the Plectostoma Sciaphilum ceased to exist and was declared extinct.
Bramble Cay Melomys
Via Wikipedia
The Bramble Cay Melomys was part of the twenty species of rodents living in the wet habitats of northern Australia. Due to the severe weather and rising sea level caused by climate change, the Bramble Cay Melomys disappeared. The last time a Bramble Cay Melomys was spotted was way back in 2009.
Pinta Island Tortoise
Via Wikipedia
The tortoise was native to Ecuador’s Pinta Island, unfortunately, by the end of the 19th century, most of the Pinta Island Tortoise were wiped out due to hunting. The last known living Pinta Island Tortoise named Lonesome George died on June 24, 2012, making the Pinta Island Tortoise officially extinct.
West African Black Rhino
Via Pinterest
The West African Black Rhino resided primarily in Cameron. Due to extreme demand for its horn that could allegedly cure various diseases, the West African Black Rhino was heavily hunted which caused the species to ultimately get extinct.
San Cristobal Flycatcher
Via Live Science
The once abundant birds in San Cristobal, that became the kings and queens of the sky is now gone. After a long-term study, the species was declared extinct in 2012. The extinction of the San Cristobal Flycatcher marks the first bird extinction in the Galapagos Island.
Alagoas Foliage-Gleaner
Via Neotropicalbirds
This rare species of bird was already classified as critically endangered when it was discovered in 1979 however, due to massive deforestation the Alagoas Foliage was declared extinct in 2019.
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