Gone Forever: Recently Extinct Animals From Around the Globe
A look at some species that used to live alongside humans
Over the course of world history, over 99.9% of all species that ever existed are now extinct. Today, people make a big deal over individual species going extinct (even though they probably shouldn’t). When most people think of extinct species, some obvious examples come to mind, including the dinosaurs and large mammals like the giant ground sloth or the wooly mammoth. However, there are a number of interesting species that have gone extinct in the past couple of centuries.
Here are six species that used to live alongside humans but are now gone.
The Tasmanian Tiger
Not to be confused with the Tasmanian devil, the Tasmanian tiger was a carnivorous marsupial that was native to the island of Tasmania as well as mainland Australia. This creature also went by the name of thylacine.
Rare photographs of these animals still survive, showing their unique shape and coloring. You can see where this animal got its name. It has stripes that are immediately reminiscent of a…