EXTINCT MAMMALS

Animals with milk-producing mammary glands are called as mammals.

Mammals

Speciation and extinction are important aspects of Ecology. Speciation is a scientific term for evolution of biological species and extinction stands for end of biological species. In simple words death of last animal of specific specie is called as Extinction of the specie. It is an ongoing process.

Mammals which have bin extinct are called as “Extinct Mammals” Naturally also many Mammals have become extinct. If a specie can not sustain the changes which are happening in the environment in which he is living and are not able to reproduce in that environment, then slowly the specie becomes extinct. In the same way Dinosaurs got extinct. But in the last millennium many mammals have rapidly became extinct because of human activities. Hunting and destroying their natural habitat are the main causes of Extinct Mammals. Many species of mammals are on the verge of extinction. Earlier man was used to hunt the animals mainly for food and rarely to protect himself from them. But now days animals are being killed for economic gains. This is disturbing natural food cycle in nature.

The first specie which got extinct because of human activities was Dodo. Dodo was flightless bird. It’s specie was closed to duck. It was used to be about 1 meter in height. The dodo lived on Mauritius islands and from late 17th century the dodo has extinct. The dodo was extincted because of excessive hunting. The incident is so famous that an English phrase arouse from it, “to go dodo’s way” which means to become extinct.

Some examples of Extinct mammals are Tasmanian wolf, Cave bear, Irish deer, Caspian tiger, Bali tiger, Golden toad etc. Some times extinction from a specific geographical area is also possible. For example cheetah has been declared as extinct in India. It was purely because of hunting that this specie which was totally evolved as per the requirements of the environment got extinct. The government has planned for reintroduction of cheetah in India. In India more than 250 species have been declared as endangered species.This is a very serious problem around the world these days.

Tasmanian wolf

Irish deer

Main reasons for extinction: There are many reasons which directly on indirectly contribute for the Extinct Mammals. Some of the reasons are as follows, Natural causes eg :- Natural climatic change Hunting Deforestation Destroying their natural habitat Global warming Steps that can be taken: STOP HUNTING   There are many ways in which we can help protecting endangered species from extinction. Strict application of animal rights Totally stop the hunting of animals Not to destroy natural habitat of animals Reforestation The flow of food cycle must be kept in smooth flow. If that does not happen then it will be directly hazardous to human specie. The steps towards not to Extinct animals should be followed. We have only one mother Earth and we have to save it for our generations to come.

List of Endangered Mammals

• Asiatic Golden Cat (Felis temmincki)
• Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica)
• Asiatic Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) thought to be Extinct now in India
• Indian Wild Ass or Khur (Equus hemionus khur)
• Asiatic Wild Dog Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
• Asiatic Black Bear (Selenarctos thibetanus)
• Banteng (Bos javanicus)
• Bengal Fox (Vulpes bengalensis)
• Brow-antlered Deer (Cervus eldi eldi)
• Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)
• Jerdon's Palm Civet (Paradoxurus jerdoni)
• Clawless Otter (Amblonyx cinereus)
• Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)
• Common Otter (Lutralutra) *wild Cat (Felis lybica ornata) Dugong/ Seacow (Dugong dugon)
• Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica)
• Gaur (Bos gaurus)
• Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei)
• Goral (Nemorhaedus goral)
• Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)
• Grey Wolf/ Indian Wolf (Canis lupus)
• Himalayan W-toothed Shrew (Crocidura attenuate)
• Himalayan Marten (Martes flavigula)
• Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus chrysogaster)
• Sikkim large-clawed Shrew (Soriculus nigrescens)
• Hispid Hare (Caprolagus hispidus)
• Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock)
• Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
• Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur)
• Jackal (Canis aureus)
• Kashmir Stag/ Hangul (Cervus affinis hanglu)
• Leopard (Panthera pardus)
• Lesser Panda (Ailurus fulgens)
• Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)
• Malabar Civet (Viverra civettina)
• Marbled Cat (Felis marmorata)
• Markhor (Capra falconeri)
• Nayan (Ovis ammon hodgsoni)
• Nilgiri Langur (Presbytis johni)
• Nilgiri Marten (Martes gwatkinsi)
• Nilgiri Tahr (Hemitragus hylocrius)
• Phayre's Langur (Trachypithecus phayrei)
• Pygmy Hog (Sus salvanius)
• Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes montana)
• Rusty-spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosa)
• Serow (Nemorhaedus sumatraensis)
• Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus )
• Smooth Indian Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata)
• Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia)
• Stump-tailed Macaque (Macaca arctoides)
• Swamp Deer/ Barasingha (Cervus duvauceli duvauceli)
• Takin (Budorcas taxicolor)
• Tibetan Wild Ass (Equus hemionus kiang)
• Tiger (Panthera tigris)