00:00Benjamin, the Tasmanian tiger
00:02Named Benjamin, he was the last living species from the Tasmanian tiger group.
00:08The Tasmanian tiger was a carnivorous marsupial mammal, often described as resembling a tiger or a wolf.
00:15In the past, this animal's habitat was widely spread across Australia and Papua New Guinea, living in eucalyptus forests and grasslands.
00:24They were nocturnal animals with a solitary lifestyle.
00:28Since the early 1900s, their population declined drastically, and by the 1930s it was stated that fewer than 50 individuals remained.
00:37They became extinct due to many factors, ranging from human hunting, diseases spreading between populations, to the loss of their natural habitat.
00:46The last known individual, named Benjamin, was recorded in 1933 at Hobart Zoo in the region of Tanzania, where he lived alone at the time.
00:55On September 7, 1936, Benjamin was declared dead due to hypothermia in his enclosure, marking the complete extinction of this animal from the face of the earth.
01:07Celeste, the Pyrenean ibex.
01:10The Pyrenean ibex was the first herbivorous mammal to go extinct.
01:13It belonged to the mountain goat family and lived in the Pyrenees Mountains, along the border between Spain and France.
01:21This animal had a robust body, grayish-brown fur, and large curved horns, especially in males, which were used for fighting and dominance.
01:30In the past, Pyrenean ibex lived on rocky mountain slopes, alpine forests, and high-altitude grasslands, with a lifestyle based on small group living.
01:41Since the 19th century, its population declined drastically due to excessive hunting and diseases transmitted from domesticated goats.
01:48By the end of the 20th century, the Pyrenean ibex population was reduced to a single individual, Celeste, who lived alone in Ordeza y Monte Perdido National Park, Spain.
01:59In January 2000, Celeste was found dead after being crushed by a fallen tree.
02:05With her death, the species was officially declared extinct in the wild.
02:08An attempt was later made to clone this animal, but the cloned offspring died, the heath hen.
02:15Named Booming Ben, he was the last individual of the heath hen species, a type of bird described as endemic to Hawaii and belonging to the same group as the prairie chicken in North America.
02:27The heath hen originally inhabited open grasslands and sandy coastal areas, especially in the region of Massachusetts and on the island of Martha's Vineyard.
02:36During the 18th to the early 19th century, the heath hen population was considered very abundant.
02:43However, due to land use changes into settlements and agricultural areas, combined with large-scale hunting, their numbers began to decline rapidly in a short period of time.
02:53The last individual, named Booming Ben, was known to live alone on Martha's Vineyard and was kept under strict supervision by conservation officers.
03:01He was given the name Booming because of the distinctive sound he produced during the mating season, even though there were no females left to respond to his call.
03:10In 1987, Booming Ben was found dead from natural causes, marking the official extinction of the heath hen.
03:18George, the Hawaiian tree snail
03:20This animal was one of the most unique land snails in the world, famous for its brightly colored, spiral-patterned shell.
03:28He was George, the last remaining Hawaiian tree snail of his species.
03:33This snail lived in the mountainous rainforests of Hawaii, clinging to tree trunks and leaves and relying on high humidity and stable microhabitats to survive.
03:43In the 19th century, Hawaiian tree snails were still found in large numbers and were even part of local Hawaiian culture.
03:49However, since the early 20th century, their population declined drastically.
03:55The main factor behind the extinction of this species was the introduction of invasive species, especially predatory snails and rats, which were brought by humans to the Hawaiian Islands.
04:06On January 1st, 2019, George was declared dead, marking the official extinction of this Hawaiian tree snail species.
04:14George, the Giant Tortoise
04:16This tortoise can perhaps be imagined as Oogway, the master character from Kung Fu Panda.
04:22His name was Lonesome George, the last Galapagos giant tortoise of the species Chelenoidus abingdoni.
04:29This animal, whose habitat was on Pinta Island, belonged to the same family as the radiated tortoise from Madagascar.
04:36Although giant tortoises as a whole are not completely extinct, this specific species of Galapagos giant tortoise was known to have only George remaining.
04:46In the 19th century, the population of this animal was very large.
04:51However, due to human activities at sea, where these animals were used as living food reserves on ships, the population declined.
04:57The last individual, named George, was known to live at the Charles Darwin Research Station.
05:04He was cared for and closely protected by staff.
05:07Breeding attempts were also carried out, but genetic differences among giant tortoise lineages prevented successful fertilization in the females.
05:15In 2012, at an estimated age of around 100 years, George finally died.
05:21Martha, the passenger pigeon
05:23Around the 1800s, the population of this animal still numbered in the billions.
05:29However, within just 100 years, that population declined drastically and eventually became extinct.
05:36This is Martha, the last remaining passenger pigeon from a population that once numbered in the billions.
05:41The passenger pigeon was a wild pigeon that was once the most abundant bird on Earth.
05:47Its habitat ranged from southern Canada to the eastern United States.
05:52Their way of life depended on living in very large numbers in order to survive.
05:56According to reports, the extinction of this species was caused by several factors,
06:01with the primary one being mass industrial hunting, which turned this animal into cheap meat used as food for slaves and workers at that time.
06:08The last known individual, named Martha, was recorded to have died on September 1st, 1914, due to old age and the inability to survive while living alone.
06:19Today, Martha's body is preserved and stored at the Smithsonian Institution.
06:24Baiji Dolphin
06:25It was the Baiji Dolphin, a freshwater dolphin endemic to the Yangtze River in China, often referred to as the Goddess of the Yangtze.
06:35Since the 1990s, the population of this dolphin species was known to number fewer than 100 individuals.
06:43Habitat isolation, combined with the increasing number of vessels passing through their habitat due to economic growth and river-based transportation,
06:52is believed to be the main factor behind the extinction of this animal.
06:56The last individuals were confirmed to still exist in the early 2000s.
06:59However, during a large-scale survey conducted in 2006, no members of this species were found in the Yangtze River.
07:08Even so, some researchers still believe that to this day, there may be one or two individuals still alive in the Yangtze River,
07:14although their existence has not yet been confirmed.
07:18The Panamanian Golden Frog
07:20Around the late 20th century, the population of this frog could still be found in the wilds of Panama.
07:27However, in less than 20 years, its numbers declined extremely drastically, leading to functional extinction.
07:34The Panamanian Golden Frog is an amphibian endemic to Panama,
07:37well known for its bright yellow color with black patterns,
07:41as well as its unique behavior of using hand movements to communicate in noisy river environments.
07:45Its natural habitat is located in Panama's tropical rainforests,
07:50especially along rocky rivers and clear-flowing streams.
07:54Its way of life depends heavily on clean and humid environments,
07:57making it a species that is highly sensitive to ecosystem changes.
08:01According to various scientific reports,
08:04the main cause of the disappearance of this species was not hunting,
08:07but the rapid and deadly spread of the chytrid fungal disease.
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