7 Extinct Animals that we can bring back

Thanks to developments in science like cloning and selective breeding, it’s now possible for us to help animals become “de-extinct”. Although some people say that we should concentrate more on conservation instead of bringing extinct animals back to life, there are a few species that we can bring back through science. With a little help of DNA from bones, teeth and marrow, here are 7 extinct animals that can live again.

Aurochs

These animals are large, wild cattle that roam North Africa, Asia and Europe. They’re also the ancestors to the domesticated cattle. There were a few species that survived in Europe however the last aurochs was recorded to have died in Poland during 1627. Scientist are planning to bring these animals back by is by using DNA from bones and teeth and find similar DNA strands from present cattle. With selective breeding, the offspring will carry the exact same DNA as the Aurochs

Irish Elks

This extinct deer species is known to be one of the biggest types of deer that has ever lived. They were once common across Eurasia, from North Asia, Africa and Ireland. Recent remains of this animal found in Siberia were carbon dated back to 7,700 years ago. They were hunted to extinction because of their giant antlers. The closest relatives these animals have that are still alive are the Red Deer.

Steller's Sea Cow

Related to the manatees and dugong, the Steller's sea cow is the largest amongst the members of the Sirenia order. This creature reached a length of 9 meters, joining the ranks of large mammals like the whale that ever existed in the water. Although they were abundant in the North Pacific, their population drastically dropped due to hunting and exclusively stayed in the waters surrounding the Commander Islands by 1741.

Passenger Pigeon

The passenger pigeon was once the most abundant bird in North America, making up more than one-fourth of the population of all the birds in the continent. There were some 3 to 5 billion of these birds living before the Europeans docked in North America. These birds lived in huge migratory flocks, up until habitat destruction and hunting led to their extinction during the 20th century. The last passenger pigeon, found at the Cincinnati Zoo, died in 1914.

Pyrenean ibex

An Iberian wild goat or Spanish ibex subspecies, the pyrenean ibex was endemic only to the Iberian Peninsula area. They were seen across the Southern France, Northern Pyrenees, and Cantabrian Mountains. They were larger than their cousins and became extinct due to habitat loss and hunting. They recently became extinct in 2000, but scientist did attempt to develop a clone from the last of the specie’s female individual. However the clone did not survive that long.

Tasmanian Tiger

Also known as the thylacine, it is the biggest known carnivorous marsupial in modern times. It looked like a cross between a dingo and a tiger, because of the stripes found on its back. Native to New Guinea, Tasmania, and Australia, it’s said that they became extinct during the 20th century.  They did become rare before the British created settlements in the island, but they strived in Tasmania together with other endemic species like the Tasmanian devil.

Woolly Mammoth

One of the biggest creature that every walked the earth since the last ice age, we have collected enough samples of DNA to clone these majestic creatures through their cousins, the Asian elephant. These animals were found in the "tundra steppe" which is stretched across northern Asia, many parts of Europe, and the northern part of North America during the last ice age. Researched suggests that the population of these animals started to decline when the earth’s temperatures rose.

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5 Animals that were Recently Tagged Extinct

Although we have discovered thousands of new species over the past few years, this generation has also seen the extinction of a number of animals. Many of these became extinct because of environmental depletion and some due to hunting and poaching. Here are a few animals that got declared extinct over the last twenty years.

Golden Toad

Also known as the orange toad or Monteverde toad, this toad was only found in Costa Rica’sMonteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. Although once a common specie, their population started to decline in the 80’s until the last one was seen in 1989. They were officially declared extinct in 2007. Researchers say that chytridiomycosis which is an amphibian disease, airborne pollution as well as climate change caused the demise of this specie.

Baiji dolphin

The last Baiji dolphin, or Yantze River dolphin, was seen in the 2002. The specie had already been tagged as critically endangered but scientists are already saying that they could be extinct. A group of researchers even went on a search in 2006, covering almost 2,000 miles looking for any signs of surviving dolphins. Decline of the Baiji dolphin’s population is caused by poaching,pollution, habitat loss, boat traffic, and overfishing. For a time, they were even hunted for their skin, which was used to make luxury bags and gloves.

Hawaiian crow

A native in Hawaii, this bird is said to be extinct in the wild. The last two wild individuals disappeared in 2002. There are some individuals that live in captivity, and more than 40 specimens were hatched in breeding programs. However, the breeding programs did not end well as mortality rate still increased. Scientist till can’t pin point what caused the population of this bird to decrease to the point of extinction, but some speculated that the illness avian malaria could have been a main reason.

Pyrenean ibex

This is actually one of the two Spanish ibexsubspecies that were tagged extinct. They were once commonly seen across the areas of Spain and France, however during the 1900s, population of the Pyrenean ibex fell lower than a hundred individuals. The last of these animals died in 2000. Researchers tried cloning these animals, but failed. Diseases, poaching and inability to compete for food cause their population to die out.

Spix's macaw

Although there are about 70 Spix's macaw alive in captivity, the last bird that lived in the wild was seen in 2000. Although technically extinct, the species is tagged as critically endangered since its potential habitat is not thoroughly surveyed. Once common in northern Brazil, these birds slowly died out in the wild because of trapping, hunting, habitat destruction, as well as the introduction of “killer bees” which competed for their nesting sites.

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