1. Extirpated Species Major causes of extinctions/extirpations
Climate change (e.g., increased temperature during Holocene)
Overharvesting (Pleistocene megafauna, modern game, furbearers)
Habitat change/destruction (tallgrass prairie, wetland, forest)

3. Erithizon dorsatum (porcupine)
Inhabited northeast Iowa hardwood forests
Extirpated soon after Euroamerican invasion
Still in southern Wisconsin
Road kills in Clayton, Scott counties (1960s)
Erithizon dorsatum (porcupine)

4. Canis lupus (gray wolf)
Inhabited northern, western Iowa
Last individual killed in Butler County (1885)
Still in northern Minnesota
Requires large forests or tundra, ungulates
Canis lupus (gray wolf)

5. Ursus americanus (black bear)
Formerly statewide
Extirpated by mid-1800s
Still in Minnesota, Wisconsin
At least 5 sightings since extirpation; 1997 in Allamakee County
Ursus americanus (black bear)

6. Martes pennanti (fisher)
Formerly rare in northern Iowa
Extirpated by early 1800s
Closest population in central Wisconsin
Hunted for pelt; requires pine forests, porcupines
Martes pennanti (fisher)

7. Gulo gulo (wolverine) Formerly rare in northeastern Iowa
Extirpation date unknown
Closest population
in northern Canada
1 in Tama County (1964)

8. Felis lynx (lynx) Formerly northern Iowa (coniferous forests); rare
Extirpated in ?
Still in northern Minnesota
1 in Shelby County (1963); avoids humans

9. Cervus canadensis (elk)
Formerly statewide
Extirpated by 1871
Reintroduced to Michigan, several other states

10. Alces alces (moose) First record in 1973 (not an extirpated species)
Boreal species; unlikely to become established
About 15 entered Iowa via Minnesota since 1973

11. Antilocapra americana (pronghorn)
In western Iowa until early 1800s
In Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota
Forbs (flowering, broadleaved herbs) essential in diet