00:00Currently, there are approximately 20 billion animals inhabiting our world.
00:06If everything were ideal, we would have 5 billion more animals on Earth.
00:11But many species have gone extinct, and around 44,000 species are currently in danger.
00:18The largest, most recent mass extinction event in history occurred during the dinosaur era,
00:23leading to the eradication of 75% of species on Earth.
00:29The Tulaci wallaby is a long-lost relative of today's kangaroo.
00:34But they had a hidden superpower – night vision.
00:37That's why they were mostly active at night.
00:39They were 3 feet tall and fed on grass, fruit leaves, and other plants.
00:45Wallabies lived in grassy areas near swamps and other water bodies, but not for long.
00:50By the 19th century, their numbers had gone down, bringing them to the edge of extinction.
00:56Only 14 wallabies had been left in the wild by 1920.
01:00A rescue mission was launched – they tried to capture the last 14 animals to protect
01:05them.
01:06But the situation got out of control, and 10 wallabies lost their lives.
01:11The 4 remaining ones were transferred to a special facility, and in 1935, the last animal
01:17passed away.
01:19Only one picture of the Tulaci wallaby is left now.
01:22There were reports of the animal's sightings after that, but no proof was shown, and the
01:27creature was officially declared extinct in the 70s.
01:32Short-faced bears were a unique species that lived in North America, particularly Alaska.
01:38It was a massive bear, weighing around 1,500 pounds.
01:42When standing on its hind legs, it was around 12 feet tall – a whole foot taller than
01:47today's biggest beast in this family, the polar bear.
01:51This animal was different from today's bears because almost all of them are omnivores
01:56except for polar bears.
01:58But this monster was solely carnivorous, which was the reason for their extinction.
02:03During the end of the Ice Age, many herbivores were gone, and those bears did not have enough
02:08food to survive.
02:10They were the Usain Bolt of the bear world, the fastest bruins to have ever lived, reaching
02:16a top speed of 40 mph, which is 5 miles faster than grizzlies.
02:22There are around 400 million pigeons in the world now.
02:26Some time ago, in America, a species of birds called passenger pigeons were abundant throughout
02:32the country, especially in the eastern forests.
02:35There were more than a billion of them, but they went from a billion to zero in a few
02:40years.
02:41They had small heads and necks, but long tails and wings, and strong breast muscles that
02:47allowed them to fly super long distances.
02:50The last passenger pigeon passed away in captivity in 1914.
02:54It was named Martha.
02:56With that, the ecosystem in the US has never seen this bird again.
03:03Elks are enormous animals, but they look tiny when you compare them to long-gone Irish elks.
03:09That elk was around 7 feet tall at the shoulder with a humongous antler of 12 feet.
03:15Today, elk are only 4.5 feet tall at the shoulder and have around 4-foot-long antlers.
03:21Despite its name, this elk was found all over the world, from Asia to Europe.
03:26It got its name because, in Ireland near Dublin, researchers found a perfectly preserved specimen.
03:33Since then, it's been called the Irish elk.
03:36The last one passed away in Ireland.
03:38The main reason for their disappearance was their inability to adapt to changes.
03:43When the Ice Age ended, the elk could not survive and became extinct.
03:49Somewhere deep in the forests of Costa Rica lives the interesting-looking golden toad.
03:55It was discovered in 1966 in one particular spot where all toads would gather to mate.
04:01In 1967, a large population of this golden nugget was noted in that same spot.
04:08But the following year, only 10-11 toads were seen, and the year after that, in 1968, only
04:15one lonely male toad showed up at the spot.
04:19For years, there were searches for golden toads.
04:22In 2004, the toads were officially declared extinct.
04:27Humans were not responsible this time.
04:29The drought in the area in the 80s had a significant impact on the toads.
04:34Still, the last straw was the arrival of a new fungal species that caused the animal's
04:39skin to thicken, eventually leading to the toad passing away.
04:43This chytrid fungus is responsible for the extinction of more than 90 frog and amphibian
04:49species, becoming one of the biggest threats to their lives.
04:55Canada is a very cold country, no surprise there, and nobody would expect tropical birds
05:00like parrots to live there.
05:02However, there was a parrot species that lived in America and some parts of Canada.
05:08I'm talking about the Carolina parakeet.
05:11Those were truly beautiful birds with orange-yellowish heads and green bodies.
05:16Their favorite rest spots were big trees alongside rivers.
05:20This parrot's favorite food was cockle-birth seeds, which are poisonous to us.
05:25But the bird had no problem eating them.
05:27Also, they used the dangerous cockle-births as a defense mechanism.
05:32After they ingested loads of them, their meat became poisonous, and predators do not enjoy
05:37eating toxic birds.
05:39Carolina parakeets were abundant, there were millions of them.
05:43But since the Ice Age, their numbers had been gradually going down because of natural reasons,
05:49mainly temperature.
05:50By 1935, no such parakeets were left in the wild.
05:56Today's African lion had a much more prominent and notorious cousin, the Barbary lion.
06:03Those cats were mentioned in many famous old books.
06:06They were described as mean, terrifying beasts.
06:09It's believed that they were the largest lion species ever.
06:12Those big cats weighed around 600 pounds and were 9 feet from the head to tail.
06:18Unfortunately, this lion was declared extinct in the 90s due to many factors.
06:23Today, we only have one photo of this animal taken from a plane.
06:29Paradise parrots were native to Australia.
06:32They were genuinely amazing birds with captivating colors.
06:36What was unique about them was their nesting habits.
06:39They only nested in termite mounds.
06:42This parrot was always on the edge of extinction, and the reason for that is still unknown.
06:47Mice, rats, and other animals also hunted them, and it added fuel to the fire.
06:52The last bird was spotted in the year 1972.
06:56Since then, paradise parrots have only been seen in museums.
07:01The Gulf of Mexico was once home to Caribbean monk seals.
07:05This species of seals enjoyed spending time in the warm subtropical climate of the Caribbean.
07:12Most of the time, they were found near reefs and islands, foraging for food.
07:16Like most of us, they also loved sandy beaches and were usually seen in groups of 100 seals
07:23resting before the next adventure.
07:25In the year 1886, monk seals were declared extinct.
07:29You can still see this animal in two museums.
07:32Both are located in the UK.
07:36As we all know, zebras have black and white stripes.
07:39But once, a zebra species had only half the body covered with brown and white stripes.
07:45The rest was just brown, and the belly was white.
07:49It was called the quagga.
07:50They lived in the southern part of Africa in grass fields and wet pastures, like today's
07:55zebras, and ate grass and other plants.
07:58The last quagga perished in 1888.
08:01But not all hope is lost.
08:03Today, extensive research is being done to bring this animal back into the wild.
08:10Australia is home to many outlandish animals, but the craziest ones are probably gastric-brooding
08:16frogs.
08:17This species is not like your ordinary frog that lays eggs.
08:21They hatch their young inside their stomach and give birth by vomiting around 25 fully-formed
08:28young frogs.
08:30Sometimes their stomach becomes so bloated that they have to breathe through their skin.
08:34Two species of this frog were discovered in the northern and southern parts of Australia
08:39in the 1970s by Mike Taylor.
08:42A decade after their discovery, both species are gone.
08:45The main reason for their extinction is the chytrid fungus.
08:50Luckily for them, they're also part of a de-extinction program that's putting serious
08:54efforts into bringing them back into the wild.
08:58That's it for today!
09:01So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
09:06friends!
09:07And if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
Comments