Animals Who are Extinct Because of Hunting

Over the years Humans and corporations have played a huge part in unethical decisions in terms of the environmental issues on the planet. Global warming and pollution is at an all time high and sadly it's affecting the animals around us. Each day animals are constantly hunted for animal parts that are believed to be of value. Some people hunt for sport and others for money. Let's take a closer look at a few animals who are extinct because of hunting.

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Northern White Rhinoceros - It's not old news that Rhinos have been hunted for their horns. In parts like South Africa it is believed that the horns can cure cancer and fevers. Which of course in untrue. According to researchers there are only 3 Northern White Rhinoceros on this earth. Sadly there is not much we can do to save the species unless they reproduce. Some of the sperm has been frozen and the San Diego Zoo in California is planning on implanting them into Southern white rhinoceros.

Elephants - Elephants are known for their ivory tusks. Ivory is used for manufacturing and art. It is quite popular in South East Asia and China. Because of this demand poachers are constantly killing elephants. It is recorded that every hour 5 African elephants are killed.

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Bengal Tigers - As the national animal of India and Bangladesh it has the largest Tiger species. Countries like India, Nepal and China have failed to implement laws to stop poaching. These countries work in conjunction to tan, kill and trade the fur and bones. The Chinese use the Bengal Tigers bones for herbal medicines.

Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna - Many people don't know that this fish is becoming rare to find. Due to the high demands for the Sushi industry has led to over fishing. The Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna is heavily prized for its taste. It's used for sushi and sashimi. European nations are said to be responsible for over fishing and in 2010 is was banned by European officials.

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Pangolian - The Pangolian is rarely talked about but is on the top list of the most hunted animal in the world. This interesting creature is the only mammal to be completely covered in scales. Pangolian scales are said to cure acne and cancer. When threatened the Pangolian will roll up and their scales will shoot out. These scales are razor sharp. Also Pangolians will release an acid scent to scare off their predators. Similar to a skunk. In Asia and Africa thousands are Pangolians are hunted and killed for their meat and scales.

Sadly all we can do to prevent these animals from going extinct are educating our peers and refusing to buy products from companies or brands that endorse poaching or the use of these materials. It's important for us to know that we are contributing to these animals becoming extinct. Lets do our part and educate others on animals who are extinct because of hunting.

Roaming Rhinoceroses

 A rhinoceros will most likely only travel if it needs to find food, water or a partner.

Picture from Michael Farino

It is said that when food and water are both abundant, a rhino will have no incentive to travel, so they will stay in their favored localities.  Because rhinos do not need to drink everyday and generally have no major probably obtaining water, they will travel to find food or partners.  If it is during a dry season however, they will increase their range of travel from 12 sq. km up to 20 sq. km.

Flying Rhinos

Even in their native South Africa, one thing you certainly don’t ever expect to see is a flying rhinoceros.

These pictures show a sedated black rhinoceros being transported via helicopter as part of the WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project. Black rhinos are frequent victims of poaching, and the WWF has been working with South African landowners to provide new habitat for them.

Previously, rhinos had to be loaded onto trucks or transported in airlift nets to be extricated from areas with rough terrain. Veterinarians working on the project agree that suspending rhinos by the ankles is the quickest and least stressful transport method for the animals. These helicopter trips usually last less than ten minutes and do not hurt the rhinos. To date, the WWF has relocated over 120 black rhinos.

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Tapirs - Not Your Average Ungulates

Though they are similar in appearance to pigs, tapirs are actually most closely related to rhinoceroses and horses. There are four living tapir species, all with similar trunk-like prehensile snouts that are capable of gripping items. The Baird’s, Mountain, and Brazilian tapir are all native to South or Central America; the Malayan tapir is only found in Thailand and Sumatra.

Baird's tapir - Photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen

Tapirs are the largest land mammals in South America and can weigh more than 800lbs. They live mainly in forests, and all except the Mountain tapir usually live close to water. Despite their bulky builds, tapirs are excellent swimmers and spend much of their time in the water cooling off, feeding or hiding from predators.

Tapirs are foragers and eat a large variety of terrestrial and aquatic plants, fruits and berries. Their extended snouts can be used to strip plants and pluck certain berries. When on land the majority of this feeding is done on well-worn forest trails, usually leading to a water source.

Malayan tapir - Photo by Sasha Kopf

Tapirs are very solitary animals; other than when mating or rearing young they will spend most of their lives in complete isolation. Tapirs can begin reproducing at 3-5 years of age, but with a gestation time of up to 400 days, reproduction only occurs every two years or so. However, tapirs are fairly long-lived, and even in the wild can live over 30 years.

Baby tapirs are covered in spots and stripes.

Due to their imposing size, tapirs have few predators. Big cats such as tigers and leopards have been known to hunt them, but this is rare. Other occasional predators include American crocodiles and anacondas.

Due to hunting and habitat loss, all species of tapir are currently considered vulnerable or endangered.

The Gigantic Gaur

Though not as large as some domesticated cattle, gaur are the largest wild cattle on earth. In fact, the only land animals that regularly grow heavier than gaur are elephants, rhinos and hippos. The largest male gaur can be ten feet long, stand over six feet tall at the shoulders and weigh well over 4,000lbs!

Gaur are mostly dark brown in color with older bulls appearing nearly black. Males can be identified by the large dorsal ridge on their backs which can extend several inches higher than the rump. Both sexes feature horns that can be over two feet long connected on the head by a grey ridge of fur.

Once common throughout most of southern Asia, gaur populations have seriously declined and fragmented over the last fifty years. Overhunting, poaching and destruction of habitat are the main causes of this, leading to these animals currently being classified as vulnerable and nearly endangered. Their current ranges included portions of India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Gaur are not known to be particularly aggressive animals and rarely fight even amongst themselves. Fully grown males are far too large for any natural predator except for tigers, and have even been known to kill tigers in self defense. However, herds near human populations can be short tempered towards both humans and livestock animals.

Protecting With Horns

Both black and white rhinoceroses are actually. gray. Their differences come from their lip shape as a result of their diet. White rhinos have square lips and graze on grasses, while black rhinos have a pointed upper lip to pick leaves and fruits from trees. White rhinos have two horns, one of which is significantly longer than the other. Their horns grow as much as three inches a year and sometimes even grow up to five feet long. Female rhinos  use their horn to protect their young, while males use theirs to fight off predators. 

Javan Rhinos Close to Extinction

The Javan rhinoceros is the world’s most endangered mammal. Only 60 of them still exist, and with a birth rate of about one a year, they aren’t expanding very fast. Almost all of them live in the same Indonesian national park, so researchers have set up 34 cameras to try and watch their behavior. The researchers hope to figure out a way to keep the species alive before it’s too late. Watch the video below for a closer look at this rare mammal.

Rhinocerceros: Not Just African Animals

When I think of rhinos I remember the old John Wayne movie Hitari that I saw as a kid. I can still see those images of the rhinos. Maybe that’s why I often think of rhinos only as African animals, but in reality there are two species are from Africa and also three species in Asia.

The African rhinoceros are the Black Rhinoceros and the White Rhinoceros (this name has nothing to do with color – see the animal facts page for an explanation). African rhinos don’t have teeth at the front of their mouths.

The Asian rhinoceros are the Javan, Sumatran and Indian. Only the white rhino is not endangered

Animal Facts: The Kneeless Rhino

As the title of this post states, rhinoceroses have no knees. They are also an odd-toed ungulate, which means they have hooves that have an odd number of toes.

Rhinos are know for their large size, weighing up to a ton. But for being as big as they are, they have a relatively small brain. Rhinos are also characterized by their horns (depending on the species they have one or two horns). Unfortunately, their horns, which can be sold for medicinal purposes or as hunting trophies on the black market, make them a prime target for poaches. Three of the five species of rhinos are now endangered.