15 Extinct Animals That May Still Be Alive

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10 – Passenger Pigeon,

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  • The Passenger or ‘Wild’ Pigeon is a North American bird measuring between fifteen and sixteen inches long depending on its gender. Hunting and the destruction of its habitat have led to its extinction – although it’s possible a minuscule number still exist, roaming the planet.
  • Once upon a time, hoards of these birds flocked over America, blotting out the skies. They were captured and eaten by the dozens, leading us to our current predicament where there are none left.
  • However, passenger pigeons are reportedly one species of extinct animals that could potentially be resurrected by cloning. A researcher at McMaster University believes that sequencing of extinct genomes is a reality and that the revival of the extinct species is well within reach.

9 – Honshu Wolf,

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  • Honshu Wolf, also known as Japanese Wolf is one of the two extinct wolves species from the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. They were officially ruled extinct in 1905, but reports of sightings still occur every once and awhile.
  • The Honshu was the world’s smallest known wolf, measuring 35 inches in length and 12 inches in height.
  • Its population first decreased in 1732 when rabies was prevalent in the area. The virus might have been transferred to the wolves by domestic dogs – possibly even intentionally by dick humans.

8 – Megalodon,

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  • The Megalodon is a shark that lived approximately two and half million years ago. It shares behavioural and physical similarities with the Great White Shark. It measures up to seventy feet long, preyed on whales, and would have been the apex predator of the ocean in its day.
  • Megalodon is believed to have gone extinct because of changing global climate conditions and increased competition for a dwindling food supply.
  • However, every now and then reports of monster sharks in the ocean surface. Typical Great White Sharks don’t generally get much longer than sixteen feet long, so reports of forty-foot Great Whites from anglers seem to hint of Megalodon’s continued existence.
  • A Megalodon tooth was even dredged up in 1875m which could mean a relic population still lives somewhere in the deepest recesses of the ocean.

7 – Baiji,

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  • The baiji were dolphins found exclusively in China’s Yangtze River. These dolphins were once plentiful, but their population is thought to have dwindled because of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and the increased boat traffic it brought.
  • The baiji were declared extinct in 2006, but one was actually spotted the following year by a team of scholars. This is encouraging news for the survival of the species, but, unfortunately, so far there’s only been the one sighting.
  • A massive expedition of over 3,540 kilometres did not yield any further sightings. However, the Yangtze is rather long, so there’s always a chance that a few baiji can still be found.

6 – Megatherium,

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  • The giant ground sloth Megatherium was a huge and frightening beast, one of the largest terrestrial mammals ever to live on this planet.
  • It was twenty feet long and could even more imposing by standing up on its hind legs. Although a slow-moving herbivore, it had massive claws that it could use to defend itself. Megatherium’s claws were so huge that researchers think it probably walked on its knuckles, with its claws protruding to the side.
  • Early humans in South America hunted this massive creature to extinction ten thousand years, but deep in the jungles of South America there are stories of a terrifying creature called the Mapinguari, who shares details with Megatherium.

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