Animals Declared EXTINCT in the 21st Century

From birds, toads, and rhinos … to tigers and ancient tortoises ... Here are 15 animals already declared extinct in the 21st century

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#6 Formosan Clouded Leopard
Clouded leopards get that name due to the spots on their coats that have a cloud-like appearance. Sources indicate that there are fewer than 10,000 individuals that currently exist in the wild. This subspecies was unique to Taiwan, also known as Formosa. Initially described in the mid-19th century, these cats were recognized as the second-largest carnivore found in Taiwan. Only the Formosan black bear was larger. The last verified sighting of the animals occurred in 1986. Efforts to locate them took place between the late-1990s and 2012 when habitats from the seashore to the mountains were surveyed. Not a single clouded leopard was spotted during the operation. As a result, the cats were declared extinct in 2013. Overhunting for their skins is a primary reason for their decline.

#5 Baiji Dolphin (bie-gee)
While you can have a claim to fame, this marine mammal has a claim to infamy. By most accounts this was the first dolphin species that went extinct due to human impact. In Chinese, Bailji means “white finned dolphin”, but it was nicknamed “the Goddess of the Yangtze”, after the river in which it swam. An estimated 6,000 individuals were alive in the 1950s. But only a few hundred of them remained by the 1970s. By the late-1990s, only 13 were thought to survive in the wild. Decades of Chinese industrialization appropriated the Yangtze River for purposes of fishing, transportation, and hydroelectricity. That resulted in the dolphins being endangered by industrial waste and becoming entangled in fishing nets. After a 2006 expedition found no trace of the animals in the Yangtze, they were declared functionally extinct due to their disappearance.

#4 Golden Toad
This amphibian was considered to have died out in the late 1980s. But its extinction wasn’t made official until 2004. This critter might look familiar since it served as a symbol of Costa Rica’s biodiversity. After it was discovered in a cloud forest reserve in the northern part of that country, it was found to have an extremely limited range. The toad was thought to be endemic to an area of no more than 8 sq km (3.1 sq miles) at a maximum elevation of 1,620 meters (5,315 feet). The last verified sighting of the amphibians occurred in 1989. Although their rapid decline was well-documented, the reasons for their extinction still aren’t understood.

#3 Northern White Rhinoceros
The fate of this species is tied to the story of a male specimen known as Sudan. He was known as the last remaining male Northern White Rhino that lived at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Living there with two younger female white rhinos, the three represented the last surviving members of their species. That’s hard to imagine given that the animals were once so abundant throughout East and Central Africa. Relentless poaching drastically reduced their numbers to single digits by the early 2000s. The three remaining rhinos were kept under 24-hour armed guard due to the threat of poachers. After unsuccessful attempts at breeding, Sudan died in March of 2018. Since there were no individuals able to reproduce, the Northern White Rhinoceros was declared functionally extinct at that time.

#2 Caspian Tiger
Experts say that this was one of the largest subspecies of tigers that ever lived. On average they could weigh up to 530 pounds (240 kg) and had a body length exceeding 9.5 feet (almost 1 meter). The largest specimens could attain sizes between a SIberian and Bengal tigers. Known for their exceptionally strong legs, the Caspian cats also had wide paws and unusually large claws. These tigers had a wide range, extending from eastern Turkey to western China. The animals downfall began in the late 19th century when Russian began colonizing Turkestan. As the animals were aggressively hunted and killed, their numbers plummeted and their habitat was destroyed. Even though sightings are occasionally reported, Caspian tigers are thought to have died out during the mid-twentieth century. In 2003 they were officially declared extinct.


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