200 Years of Extinctions Trivia Quiz

Answer: bird

The great auk was a flightless bird indigenous to the north Atlantic areas of Canada, Greenland, Ireland and Great Britain. The great auk bore a strong resemblance to penguins. They were about 2 1/2 ft tall and about 10 lbs. They were black and white, had short legs, and were flightless.

They did possess a very strong beak. Until man came along their only predators were orcas, walruses and some of the larger birds of prey. Their demise was brought about by over hunting for food and for their down which was used to stuff pillows.

The very last great auks were found on Edley Island near Iceland. This colony of about 50 was slaughtered as soon as they were found and their eggs taken as collectors' items. These eggs can still be seen in museums throughout the world.

Answer: deforestation

The main reason for the extinction of this very colorful bird was deforestation. When trees were cut down so that the land could be farmed, the nests were destroyed and their food disappeared. The practice of stealing chicks from nests to sell as pets was also responsible for their extinction. Unlike most birds, both males and females were brightly colored with a bright red head, a patch of orange on the back of the neck with blue and green wings.

A veritable flying rainbow!

Answer: quagga

The last surviving quagga died at the Artis Magistra Zoo in Amsterdam on August 12, 1883. The quagga was a very unique zebra in that it was striped only on the front half of its body and solid colored on its back. It was systematically killed to preserve grassland for cattle and other domesticated animals.

It was also hunted for its meat and it skin. Because of the great numbers of zebras on the continent many of the local tribes associate fertility with the zebra and the wearing of its hide was believed to help with having many healthy children.

The quagga was the first extinct animal to have its DNA studied. DNA has been extracted with hopes that someday we may be able to bring this animal back.

Answer: Africa

The Atlas bear roamed about northern Africa from Libya to Tunisia and Morocco. They were often captured and used by the Romans in a punishment in which the "guilty" were thrown to wild animals. These animals were hunted into extinction by big game hunters.

They did not need the meat, hide or bones of the animal. When the numbers had dwindled to near extinction, museums became involved in an attempt to get one of the last surviving bears for their collections. This shy animal is often listed as an herbivore, and was a solitary creature that for the most part left humans and their livestock alone.

The extinction of the Atlas bear is a true example of how ruthless and unsympathetic the human species can be.

Answer: The Falkland Islands

The warrah or Falkland Islands wolf became extinct in 1876. It was thought to be a threat to the sheep being brought to the island by European farmers and was methodically killed off. Because the warrah was insular it had no fear of humans. A man could hold out a piece of meat and the warrah would happily come over for free food, only to meet its demise by being beaten to death with a stick. How it came to live on an island that had no rodents or other mammals has always been a puzzle. How did it get to this island? It subsisted on small birds and scavenged the beach.

It took only 50 years for European settlers to completely decimate this species.

Answer: World War I

The population of the Syrian wild ass completely collapsed during WWI. Once plentiful in the Middle East it never recovered from the onslaught of soldiers fighting in the area. They killed the wild ass, destroyed its food sources, polluted the area, and brought disease. Within 10 years of the war the Syrian wild ass was extinct.

This animal was pictured in ancient Mesopotamian art and large herds once roamed the area.

Answer: rabies

The Honshu wolf, sometimes called the Japanese wolf died in large numbers from rabies brought to the Japanese islands by European dogs imported to guard the blossoming cattle trade. The rabies caused the naturally shy animal to become aggressive and farmers began killing them off in large numbers. Strychnine-poisoned baits were commonly used and were very effective. If the poison did not kill the animal outright, it usually rendered them infertile.

This was the smallest of the wolf family possibly due to a process called allopatric speciation or island dwarfing.

Answer: wild horse

The tarpan was a prehistoric wild horse that managed to survive until the 20th century. They are depicted in cave drawings in both France and Spain. The last known wild mare was killed during an attempt to capture her. These equines were very stocky and light brown in color.

They were never successfully domesticated. Extensive back-breeding has been attempted trying to resurrect the tarpan. And although they have bred some animals with a resemblance both genetically and physically, the tarpan is gone and will never run wild again.

Answer: Thailand

Schomburgk's deer were found in Thailand. They were first described in 1863 and were extinct by 1938. They roamed in small groups consisting of 1 male with his harem or 3-4 females, with their young. Due to river flooding they were often trapped on small hills that were still above water and made for very easy hunting by hungry peasants. Further degradation of their habitat occurred when the areas were turned into rice paddies.

The males had beautiful racks that could be 35 inches long and contain as many as 30 points. Only males had antlers. Only one stuffed specimen remains for study in the Natural History Museum in Paris.

Answer: feathered hats

Women's hats were in style for hundreds of years. Many of the most colorful or beautifully feathered birds were driven to extinction in a hunt for their feathers for adornment of these hats. Although not considered good to eat, hunters would kill the bird just for the sake of the hunt. Rare to begin with, it did not take much predation by man to cause extinction of this distinctive bird.

Answer: seal

Monachus tropicalis was the scientific name for the Caribbean monk seal. This gentle creature was the only seal to live in the Caribbean and it was hunted to extinction by European settlers for its oil; the meat was usually discarded as was the skin. In northern climates the seal meat and seal skin were as valuable as the oil. Last seen in the 1950's, this placid animal had no fear of man and was thus easy kill.

It was also crowded out of all Caribbean islands once European settlers arrived. Any available food for the seal was netted and eaten by hungry settlers, with no thoughts of the future.

Answer: oil

The hunt for oil has caused the demise of at least 4 distinct types of gazelle, numerous desert dwelling rodents, and at least 8 species of birds. Loss of habitat, loss of prey food, and pollution has all played a part. Areas considered uninhabitable by humans are now being inhabited and the local animals have never developed fear of humans, and/or live in a highly localized niche of the food chain. Living in small populations with low birth rates, however stable, makes a species vulnerable to deliberate and accidental extinction.

Answer: the golden toad

The golden toad lived in high-altitude rain forests near Montverde, Costa Rica. Its demise was due to introduced species and global warming. Introduced species have had terrible effects on many islands and on the continent of Australia. The introduced species upset the food chain and bring in disease that endemic species have no protection from.

This bright golden orange toad lived in a small area, had a very high ratio of male toads to female toads, and was very vulnerable to the El Nino effect. First described in 1966 the toad was declared extinct by 1989. Very few photos exist.

Answer: the first extinct animal to be cloned

The Pyrenean ibex holds the distinction of being the first extinct animal to be cloned. Success only lasted 7 minutes. A cloned kid was born in 2009 but died after 7 minutes due to lung failure. With advances in DNA and cloning it is possible that someday in the future some species may be brought back from the edge of extinction. Scientist have never been sure what caused this ibex to go extinct and many possible explanations have been put forward.

But disease and infection played a role. This beautiful mountain goat may someday climb the mountains of Europe again, but it is doubtful that a full breeding colony could ever be recreated.

Answer: a river dolphin

The baiji is a freshwater river dolphin found in the Yangtze River in China. Declared extinct in 2007 by the ICUN red list, rumors have been put forth that one or two may possibly exist. The baiji became extinct when industrialization set in. More boats with propellers were in the waters causing some deaths.

But by far the largest cause of the baiji's demise was getting caught in fishing nets. They are the first aquatic mammal to become extinct since the 1950's. It is always natural to get claims from someone that thinks they saw an extinct animal.

This is almost always, and I emphasize almost, misidentification or wishful thinking.