The purpose of creating the Black Book is not only to inform people about previously existing species. It is also a signal that protecting nature is necessary, another way to draw attention to the problem of protecting species on the verge of extinction.
The Black Book appeared in the middle of the 20th century. It is based on the black pages of the Red Book, which contain information about extinct species of animals and plants. Currently, the list consists of 844 species of animals and more than 1,000 species of plants. Many became extinct relatively recently, and some species have managed to preserve their genetic material.
10 animals from the Black Book
1.Aurochs
The tour lived in Europe and North Africa and became extinct in 1627. The aurochs were powerful artiodactyls: Their weight reached 800 kg, and their height at the withers was up to 180 cm. Males were black, and females were brown. The head had massive, sharp horns, and aggressive animals repelled enemies’ attacks.
The mighty bull died not only because of uncontrolled hunting but also because its habitat was narrowed due to agricultural work. Diseases transmitted by livestock have also been affected.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, people have tried to revive the subspecies using DNA preserved in animal bones.
2. The Mauritian Dodo
The Mauritian Dodo lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and became extinct in 1662. The dodo is one of the symbols of the state of Mauritius. Its image is on the coat of arms, but the bird will never reappear on the island. Studying the fossil remains, scientists concluded that the dodo was quite tall—up to one meter—and weighed 10 to 18 kg.
It is assumed that the bird had a gray color, yellow legs, and a hook up to 23 cm long at the end of its long beak. The wings were short and underdeveloped, as a result of which the Mauritian dodo could not fly, which, in general, it did not need: the birds ate fallen fruits, seeds, nuts, and roots.
Dodos had no predators in their environment, so they became easy prey for sailors who arrived in Mauritius in the 16th century. Birds were killed en masse to replenish food supplies on the ship. Later, when developing a warm tropical island, people cut down forests where dodos lived and imported pets destroyed nests. It took less than a hundred years to eradicate the species.
3. Steller’s cow
Steller’s cow lived in northern Pacific Ocean latitudes and became extinct in 1772. The German scientist Georg Steller discovered and described the Steller cow in 1741. As a result of a shipwreck, he was part of Vitus Bering’s expedition and forced to spend the winter with the detachment on the Commander Islands. Here, he discovered a vast mammal, reaching a length of up to nine meters and weighing about five tons. It swam in shallow water and fed on seaweed. This animal is called the cabbage patch.
At that time, the Steller cow was threatened with extinction: about one and a half thousand individuals remained in the Commander Islands. Because of the delicious meat, the Aborigines actively destroyed them. Moreover, one animal could feed up to thirty people for a month.
The thick hide made shoes, belts, and even boats. A layer of fat up to 10 cm thick was used for food and to manufacture the most straightforward lamps since it did not emit an unpleasant odor during combustion. All this influenced the fact that the Steller cow was gone soon.
4. The Steller cormorant
The Steller cormorant lived on islands of the Bering Sea and became extinct in 1852. It was first described in 1741 by Georg Steller, after whom it became the Steller cow. It was one of the largest cormorants: it reached a length of 96 cm and weighed about 6 kg. The bird had black plumage tinged with blue, green, purple, or metallic luster. Two tufts were on its head, and his eyes were circled with yellow circles.
The mass extermination of cormorants began in 1826 when the Aleuts were sent to settle the Commander Islands, where the birds lived. They actively exterminated the Steller cormorant because of its delicious meat and eggs, so in less than 50 years, no birds were left on the Commanders.
The wingless auk is a bird incapable of flight: its wings reach only 15 cm, with a body length of 75 cm and an average weight of about 5 kg. But the wingless auk swam very well and could dive to a depth of up to a kilometer without air for up to 15 minutes.
Clumsy on land, the trusting bird became easy prey for hunters, who valued it for its warm down. Hunters also hunted for auk eggs—large, with a large, tasty yolk. Since the 16th century, some states have tried to take protective measures to protect birds.
For example, in Great Britain, since 1794, public flogging has been carried out for the murder of a wingless auk. However, it was difficult to control the implementation of protective measures, and by the middle of the 19th century, the wingless auk had disappeared from the face of the Earth.
5. Tarpan
Tarpan lived in Eastern Europe, including the European part of Russia. The steppe tarpan lived in the steppes and forest-steppes of Europe, and the forest tarpan lived in the forests of Central Europe and became extinct in 1879. Visit. A F R I N I K. C O M .For the full article. Tarpans differed from ordinary horses by their smaller size, thick hooked-nosed head, pointed ears, and erect mane. Their body was covered with thick, short, wavy hair, which helped them survive the cold winters.
The main reasons for the subspecies’ extinction were the plowing of the steppes, which narrowed the natural habitat, and the hunting of animals famous for their delicious meat.
Scientists are constantly trying to revive the subspecies by crossing different types of horses. Tarpanoid horses live in Latvia, the Republic of Belarus, and Poland.
6. Quagga
Quagga lived in South Africa, the territory of the modern state of South Africa. The last quagga died in the wild in 1878 and at the Amsterdam Zoo in 1883, when it became extinct.
The quaggy’s appearance was remarkable: its front part resembled a zebra, and the back resembled an ordinary horse. The quagga was small: 1.3 m at the withers, weighing 200 to 300 kg. Brown and light tones dominated the coloring.
Quaggas have long been domesticated by humans and were used to protect herds. They noticed predators approaching them from afar and notified them with loud cries. By the end of the 19th century, as a result of uncontrolled hunting, the meat and skins of animals were valued, and the sharp narrowing of their habitat and competition with livestock made the quaggas extinct.
In 1984, scientists extracted DNA from a dried-up quaggy muscle, and since then, people have not given up trying to restore the population. Since 1987, scientists worldwide have been carrying out a project to breed quaggas by crossing Burchell zebras. Currently, 142 animal hybrids of quagga are known.
7. The Wandering Pigeon
The wandering Pigeon lived in North America and Europe and became extinct in 1901. In 1914, the last Pigeon, Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoo, USA. The wandering Pigeon has a more streamlined body shape than other members of the genus, which is associated with its ability to fly for long periods.
Its populations were numerous until the beginning of the 19th century when the mass extermination of birds began. Even before the European exploration of the New World, the Indians used pigeon meat for food: they pickled, salted, and smoked it in reserve.
The Europeans dramatically increased their consumption, using pigeons for human nutrition and livestock feed. Wandering pigeons were considered harmful birds, causing significant damage to agriculture, and therefore, hunting them was encouraged. The disappearance of birds and the reduction of forests, their primary environment, have been affected.
8. Caucasian bison
The Caucasian bison lived in forests of the northwest Caucasus and became extinct in 1927. It differed from its European relative in its smaller size, darker and curly hair, and curved horns. Hunters actively exterminated it, and despite attempts to protect the animal, in 1927, the fact of the extermination of the last Caucasian bison on Mount Alous was officially documented.
Starting in 1921, the Soviet government tried to restore the bison population by crossing a descendant of a Caucasian male and a female Belovezhskaya bison with a bison. By the end of the 1980s, the number of individuals had reached 1300. Currently, their descendants live on the territory of the Caucasian Nature Reserve. Perhaps, over time, the Caucasian bison will leave the sad list.
9. The Transcaucasian Tiger
The Transcaucasian Tiger lived in Central Asia, Iran, and the Caucasus and became extinct after 1957. It was distinguished from other representatives of the species by its bright red color and the length of its stripes, which had a brownish tinge. In winter, the fur was thicker, and lush sideburns appeared. The tiger weighed about 240 kg—only Bengal and Amur tigers were more significant than him.
The primary habitat was reed beds along the river banks. The destruction of habitat in the process of land cultivation became the main reason for the extinction of the Transcaucasian tiger. They lost their food supply—wild boars and roe deer, which lived in reed thickets. Human destruction of predators also played a significant role. For example, Prince Golitsyn killed the last Transcaucasian tiger in the Tashkent region in 1906.
10. The wingless auk
The wingless auk lived in the northern latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean, from the Kola Peninsula to eastern Canada, and became extinct in 1852. The wingless auk is a bird incapable of flight: its wings reach only 15 cm, its body length is 75 cm, and its average weight is about 5 kg. However, the wingless auk swam very well and could dive to a depth of up to a kilometer without air for up to 15 minutes.
Clumsy on land, the trusting bird became easy prey for hunters, as it was valued for its warm down. They also hunted for auk eggs — large, with a sizeable tasty yolk. Since the 16th century, some states have tried to take protective measures to protect birds.
For example, in Great Britain, since 1794, public flogging has been carried out for the murder of a wingless auk. However, it was difficult to control the implementation of protective measures, and by the middle of the 19th century, the wingless auk had disappeared from the face of the Earth.
