Pyrenean Ibex



The Pyrenean Ibex has one of the more interesting stories among extinct animals, since it was the first species to ever be brought back into existence via cloning, only to go extinct again just seven minutes after being born due to lung failure. Here at Ecoworldly, we reported on the event, which happened in January 2009.

The last naturally born Pyrenean Ibex died on January 6th, 2000, after being found dead under a fallen tree at the age of 13. That animal’s only companion had died just a year earlier due to old age. Although the recent effort to resurrect the Ibex was short-lived, the event does bring optimism, and raise serious debate, about whether extinct creatures should be given a second chance.

Javan Tiger




 
Javan Tigers are a subspecies of tiger which were limited to the Indonesian island of Java. The last specimen to have been seen was sighted in 1972, although there is evidence from track counts that the animal had lingered into the 1980’s. The last track counts to yield evidence of the tigers was held in 1979, when just three tigers were identified.

The leading cause of their extinction was agricultural encroachment and habitat loss, which continues to be a serious concern in Java.

There are some who believe that Javan Tigers could still be alive in some of the island’s few remaining forested regions, although even so, the tiger’s numbers would be so low that the species would still be functionally extinct. The region most likely to contain a tiger today would have to be the Meru Betiri National Park, although even that area is now being threatened by mining companies after the discovery of gold nearby.

Syrian Wild Ass



The Syrian Wild Ass was likely extinct when the last known captive animal died at the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria, in 1928. It once had a wide range throughout Mesopotamia, where reports were common of large herds which used to roam wildly in the mountains and desert steppes of the Middle East.

Although already threatened beforehand, it is said that the Syrian Wild Ass completely collapsed during World War I, when their habitat was overrun with heavily armed Turkish and British troops. One account remarked that ”it could not resist the power of the modern guns in the hands of the Anazeh and Shammar nomads, and its speed, great as it may have been, was not sufficient always to escape from the velocity of the modern motor car which more and more is replacing the Old Testament Camel-Caravan.”