A History of Overexploited Extinct and Nearly Extirpated Species BIOL437/ January 2015

Dodo 1598: Dutch settle Mauritius as penal colony History’s first extinction Last seen: 1681 Model Incomplete skeleton

New Zealand Moa 11 spp. Total N  160,000 Killed off within 100 years of Maori arrival – 13th and 14th centuries

Madagascar’s Giant Elephant Bird Colonized ya Rapidly lost giant elephant birds, hippos, giant tortoises, and three ground-dwelling lemurs – All large animals except crocodiles

Decimation of the Hawaiian Avifauna 111 native species when Polynesians came ~2000 ya 63 extinct – 23 since first Europeans – 30 of remaining 48 endangered

Steller’s Sea Cow Discovered in Bering Sea in 1741 Extinct, 1768

Warrah (Falklands Fox) “Their numbers have rapidly decreased…. Within a very few years after these islands shall have become regularly settled, in all probability this fox will be classed with the dodo.” – C. Darwin, 1845 – (He was right—1876)

Thylacine (= Tasmanian Tiger) Marsupial “wolf” 1905: 100 bounties paid 1909: 2 bounties 1930: last shooting of a wild specimen 1936: last captives died

Thylacine Hunters on Tasmania

Quagga Southern Africa 1878: Extinct in wild due to white hunters with rifles 1883: Last captive died in Amsterdam Zoo

Passenger Pigeon Massive, commercially- driven extermination Once ~5 billion birds Last wild bird shot in March 1900 Cincinnati Zoo specimens lived to 1913 (George) and 1914 (Martha)

Passenger Pigeon Slaughter

Great Auk Once ranged from Iceland to FL Slaughtered for feathers and oil 1844: last two killed on islet off Iceland

Funk Island Slaughtering Grounds Northeast of Newfoundland

Ivorybill Woodpecker Decline mainly due to loss of bottomland forests of SE – Beak sold as keychain trinket – As species declined, scientists collected as many as they could Studied by Tanner in LA,

Tanner’s Ivorybill Photos

HANDOUT Ivorybill Sightings

Carolina Parakeet Native to SE U.S. – Outliers in NY, WI, CO Farmers, orchard owners, plume collectors, and egg collectors drove it extinct 1904: last wild specimens taken in KS – Rumored sightings through the 1930s (FL and SC)

Heath Hen Eastern subspecies of greater prairie chicken Ranged from ME to NC Extirpated by hunters from the mainland by about 1870, and survived only on Martha’s Vineyard, MA

Heath Hen on Martha’s Vineyard 1907: MA established a refuge for birds 1916: up to 2000 – Fire burned 20% of the island – Influx of goshawks 1917: 126 survivors – Slow, inexplicable decline 1925: last chicks 1928: two males 1932: last male killed by a car

Labrador Duck 1878: last specimen shot in Elmira, NY – 1891: Unconfirmed sighting along Grand River, Labrador “Poor-man’s poultry” Males went to collectors rather than to markets

Atlantic Gray Whale Only cetacean taxon driven extinct Other large whales and 1900s “factory” whaling: – Blue: 99% reduction (210,000 to 2,300) – Fin: 77% reduction (200,000 to 45,000) – Atlantic right: Untold thousands to ~500

American Bison million, from MA to GA across Great Plains to PNW, north into w Canada and perhaps AK Extinct east of Mississippi River by early 1800s Exterminated in the Great Plains – “Sport hunters” – Tongue and robe collectors – Extermination of the Plains Native Americans

American Bison 1892: 541 on private ranches Yellowstone: ~200 in 1872 – 1900: 20−25 due to poaching Only other wild population in n. Alb. – Wood Buffalo National Park Today: ~200,000

HANDOUT Mattson and Merrell 2002

California Golden Bear Blonde subspecies numbered 10,000 Extinct by 1920s

Gray Wolves 1980: Exterminated in Lower 48 except for wolves in MN, WI, and upper MI Up to 2500 in MN – Spreading into Dakotas – More numerous in WI and upper MI 1980s: Recolonized w MT 1990s: Reintroduced to ec ID and nw WY

Red Wolves 1980: extinct in wild Reintroduced to the Alligator River NWR, NC Failed reintroduction in Great Smoky Mtns National Park

Black-footed Ferret 98% reduction in favorite prey, black-tailed prairie dogs Feared extinct until ~130 found near Meeteetse, WY, in 1981 Distemper epidemic—18 survivors Bred prolifically in captivity Reintroduction underway – WY, SD, MT, AZ, CO, UT, KS, NM, MX, SK

Population Recovery After Cessation of Overexploitation

Northern Elephant Seal 1900: ~20 Today: ~150,000

White Rhino 1900: ~50 Today: 17,000

Wild Turkey 1940s: extinct in 81% of its range From low of 38,000 to >12 million today

Vicuña 1970: ~8000 Today: ~200,000 – Trade in fleece ($250/lb.) reinstated

White-tailed Deer (KY) 1927: <1000 in 4 of the 120 counties Today: 690,000