Category Zoology

There are no large marsupial predators living in Australia today, but the thylacine ‘wolf’ only became extinct recently. There may still be a few survivors in Tasmania.

The thylacine was a large, dog-like animal with striped sides and an enormous mouth lined with fierce teeth. Sheep farmers hunted it to the edge of extinction in Tasmania, in order to protect their flocks. The last known thylacine died in a zoo in 1936, but there are still occasional reports of their being seen in the thick bush.

The thylacine was once common throughout Australia, but it was pushed out by the success of the dingo, a semi-domesticated dog introduced into Australia by the Aborigines when they colonized this country.

           The dodo was a large, flightless relative of the pigeon that once lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

           It was discovered in 1507 but by 1681 it was extinct, although some relatives living on nearby islands survived for a few more years. The dodo was very large and fat, weighing around 23 kg, so sailors hunted it for food. Being a very trusting and slow-moving creature, it was easy to catch. The dodo also suffered from attacks by introduced animals such as pigs and rats, which destroyed its eggs and young.

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               All the larger kinds of whale are threatened with extinction. Although whales are protected from hunting by international law, there are many loopholes that are exploited. A new threat comes from the commercial exploitation of krill, the tiny crustaceans that form the bulk of the diet of the huge blue whales and some of smaller relatives. Krill are being harvested in huge quantities by fishing boats, for use as fertilizer and as food. If their stocks are reduced, the whales will have no alternative food sources.

Picture credit: google

                    The desire of some people to keep exotic pets threatens many parrots and wild cats. Spectacular parrots like the macaw are captured in large numbers and exported for the pet trade. This practice has greatly reduced their numbers in the wild, and this trade is now strictly controlled in most countries. Captive breeding programmes have been set up to avoid the need to capture wild parrots. Hawks are subject to the same pressures, and are protected in many countries.

                    Some of the smaller wild cats, such as the ocelot, are popular among the wealthy as prestigious pets. However, these creatures are not really suited to captivity.

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                    Turtles are threatened because of hunting and loss of habitat. They have been a favourite food for thousands of years, and their population is unable to sustain the present level of hunting. The worst threat comes from the disturbance and destruction of the turtles’ breeding sites. The ideal beaches for turtles to lay their eggs on are also the ideal beaches for holidaymakers. The result is that hotels have been built near these beaches, roads carry cars whose headlights confuse turtles heading for the beach at night, and tourists disturb the turtles as they lay their eggs.

Picture credit: google

                    According to the theory of evolution, some animal species become extinct because they are less successful than other species that gradually replace them.

                   These so-called ‘failed’ animals are also unable to adapt to changing circumstances. Humans have accelerated their extinction by changing the environment so rapidly that animals do not have time to adapt. For example, the destruction of Indonesian rainforests has left nowhere for the orangutan to live. It would take millions of years for the animal to evolve into a ground-living creature. Hunting is the reason for the reduced numbers and probable extinction of animals such as the tiger, the blue whale and the giant panda.