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[Mammoth Jones]

Personally it would have to be the Mammoth. It just looked so amazing and it's sad how it was one of the earliest animals we might have had a major impact in their eventual extinction.

Such beautiful majestic beasts. I miss them.

 

[MikeyB]

The passenger pigeon. Billions in North America when Europeans arrive. All gone by the 20th century. Deforestation and exploitation as cheap meat.

Their flocks were big enough to blacken the sky.

 

[Jaffaboy]

The other Homo species. It's crazy to think about that there were other sapient animals that weren't us. We lived along side them... and now we're the only ones left.

There can be only one!

Agreed though.

 

[Yrael]

The extinction of cat species and subspecies always saddens me. The Javan, Bali and Caspian tigers went extinct last century, as did the Barbary lion in the wild (the existence of Barbary lions in captivity remains unclear).

Erm... The white tiger is not a race though but a result from a gen defect. Like an albino.
If wiki is to be believed (which I suppose it is), all living white tiger are descendants once caught in the wild.

Pretty much. (I'm feeling lazy so I'll copy-paste what I've written elsewhere.)

White tigers aren't really endangered though, because they're not a unique subspecies of tiger. They are Bengal (or part Bengal) tigers that are homozygous for a recessive allele causing them to lack orange pigment. They are born very rarely amongst the Bengal tiger population, perhaps 1 in 10,000 births - the last recorded wild white tiger was shot in India in the 1950s. In fact, the white tigers in captivity in India are descended from a single male captured in 1951 (white tigers in the US are mostly descended from a cross-breeding between a Bengal and Siberian tiger in the 1970s). The only reason why there are so many white tigers in captivity is selective inbreeding to produce more of them for circuses and exotic animal displays. This doesn't have any conservation value, and is actively harmful to the cats, since they can be born with genetic defects as a result of the inbreeding.

The golden tabby/strawberry colouration is probably the result of a captive orange tiger inheriting a double recessive wideband gene. The hair shaft of a tiger isn't uniform in colour: there's a pale band between the follicle and the pigmented tip. The effect of the wideband gene is to lengthen the width of this pale mid band, which results in an apparent "de-pigmentation" or yellowing of the fur. (This also occurs in various other animals, such as rabbits and domestic cats.)

White tigers can inherit this trait too – when they do, they end up being so pale that their stripes almost completely vanish!

It's worth noting though that the intentional breeding of colour morphs such as white tigers is condemned by conservationists and animal welfare activists (and many zoo associations), since such animals are highly inbred in order to display these recessive traits - almost all white tigers in captivity can trace their ancestry back to a single white male captured in India in the 1950s, and white tigers generally have a much higher risk of physical deformities (as do golden tigers).

The full story of the ancestry of white tigers is here. The most well-known is the Rewa line (from Mohan the white tiger, captured in 1951), which most white tigers are part of. There was also another strain of white tigers that originated in the 1970s from a small zoo in South Dakota (particularly Tony, a Bengal-Siberian tiger) - several white tigers that have ended up on display in American circuses are descended from him.

There haven't been any white tigers sighted in the wild since Mohan.

 

[terrisus]

MUDs

Alright, they're just "Endangered," not "Extinct," but still >.>

 

[LiquidSolid]

The Moa. We could have had our Chocobo riding dream.

What makes the Moa even sadder is the chain reaction that kind of extinction causes. Took the Haast's Eagle right along with it.

 

[FuuPhoenix]

Man, pretty much every animal going extinct is ridiculously sad.

It's pretty depressing that the Bonobo monkey is endangered due to poaching despite the fact that they're our closest existent relative; why can I not shake the feeling that it's pretty much cannibalism?

 

[John Kowalski]

any extinction driven by human carelessness, or worse, greed, is especially depressing

 

[LakeEarth]

The passenger pigeon. Once the most populated bird species on the planet, with flocks that would take hours days to pas overhead, and a species numbering 3 to 5 billion. They were the literal definition of success within the animal kingdom, until humans came along.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon#Extinction

This one. They used to be so plentiful that they would block the sun flying overhead. Insane how quickly they disappeared.

 

[Firemind]

The passenger pigeon. Billions in North America when Europeans arrive. All gone by the 20th century. Deforestation and exploitation as cheap meat.

Their flocks were big enough to blacken the sky.

I can't fathom how this is even possible. Did they just shoot pellets in the sky?

 

[Catdaddy]

The passenger pigeon. Once the most populated bird species on the planet, with flocks that would take hours days to pas overhead, and a species numbering 3 to 5 billion. They were the literal definition of success within the animal kingdom, until humans came along.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon#Extinction

This one is insane...

That wiki entry states they may try and clone to bring them back??

 

[Laieon]

T-Rex. Just think of all the fun we could've had if we domesticated them.

 

[jrush64]

Dont know if I'm actually sad about this... Holy shit this is terrifying.

 

[Forceatowulf]

The megafauna always give me this sense of confliction when I read up on them.

On one hand; these beasts were magnificent to behold. Their extinction is an absolute tragedy of nature.

On the other hand; ... LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE FUCKERS. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! FUCK THAT

 

[FuuPhoenix]

Dont know if I'm actually sad about this... Holy shit this is terrifying.

"Phorusrhacidae: People know this creature as the “terror bird.” It was one of the largest predatory birds that ever lived and could run at speeds up to 40mph."

 

[Saintguine]

It's not really extinction as of writing but the coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef is one of my biggest concerns not only in that lovey dovey environmental sense of habitat loss and "oooo it's so pretty" but also in terms of biotechnology where sponges who make anti-cancer compounds that we can't synthesize can and will become extinct.

 

[NekoFever]

Pinta Island tortoise

They were almost completely wiped out by hunting in the late 19th Century and presumed extinct until 1971, when a single male was discovered. "Lonesome George" was taken into captivity for safekeeping and despite numerous attempts to mate him with females from close subspecies, he was never able to produce offspring and died alone, the last of his species, in 2012

 

[Anoregon]

Man, pretty much every animal going extinct is ridiculously sad.

It's pretty depressing that the Bonobo monkey is endangered due to poaching despite the fact that they're our closest existent relative; why can I not shake the feeling that it's pretty much cannibalism?

Bonobo's aren't monkeys.

 

[FuuPhoenix]

Bonobo's aren't monkeys.

Bonobo | Species | WWF
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/bonobo
Bonobos and chimpanzees look very similar and both share 98.7% of their DNA with humans. The bonobo monkey is currently endangered due to poaching ...

You're absolutely right - I did indeed know that but I was reading up on them at the time out of interest, was typing as I was reading the following on Google ^^. Derp.

 

[spanks]

Neanderthals. Woulda been cool to share the planet with another intelligent race.

 

[RiggyRob]

Neanderthals. Woulda been cool to share the planet with another intelligent race.

Considering the course of human history with regards to slavery, exploitation, religion and genocide, I'm not convinced we'd 'share' the planet.

My pick: the Thunder Bird (and other megabirds like it):

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

I envision a Titan A.E future where we take DNA material of all extinct animals and clone new animals on new teraformed worlds.



It's going to be sad without rhinos, elephants and tigers. But I am also going to miss sea turtles. When they are gone, it's going to put a number on many ecosystems due to the rise of jellyfish. they are like the deer of the sea, fucking everything up.

 

[Broder Salsa]

The brøndby fan.

 

[jerry1594]

I can't fathom how this is even possible. Did they just shoot pellets in the sky?

Punt guns. Could kill 50 ducks with one shot.

The extinction of cat species and subspecies always saddens me. The Javan, Bali and Caspian tigers went extinct last century, as did the Barbary lion in the wild (the existence of Barbary lions in captivity remains unclear).



Pretty much. (I'm feeling lazy so I'll copy-paste what I've written elsewhere.)

I would think the zoo person meant tigers in general or a local population of tigers.

 

[Mecha]

Unpopular opinion I'm sure, but I don't care if animals go extinct unless it's a common pet, common food, or highly important part of the ecology of one of the previous.

"Everything here is to serve me, everything that doesn't can die!"

You sound like a pretty pleasant, caring person.

 

[Orthogonal]

The thing I don't get is that they make money from the fins, no? Why wouldn't they want to help keep sharks from going extinct if they could keep making money off of them?

That doesn't happen when the resource exists in a shared/non-owned public space (like the ocean). When it is non-owned land, it is a mad dash to get it as fast as possible.

The only way for an industry like that to set itself up on a sustainable path is for it to be like a "farm" and they own and raise the sharks.

 

[alfredofroylan]

No Sabre toothed cat?

Also Glyptodon

 

[Dénouement]

Dont know if I'm actually sad about this... Holy shit this is terrifying.

I was about to come in here saying it sucks to lose any species but um?????/???? This shit can stay dead.

 

[y2dvd]

Considering the course of human history with regards to slavery, exploitation, religion and genocide, I'm not convinced we'd 'share' the planet.

My pick: the Thunder Bird (and other megabirds like it):

Imagine the muscles these megabirds must've acquired to be able to fly at their size.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

The other Homo species. It's crazy to think about that there were other sapient animals that weren't us. We lived along side them... and now we're the only ones left.

Considering they didn't have vocal cords like us, they would basically scream in high pitch voices.

Probably one of the reasons we killed them all.

 

[norinrad]

I would probably say the destruction of the Ferengi people, but this is about real world issues i guess.

 

[bengraven]

I think we should kill it again if they do.
Horror movie shit.

They were harmless to man, terrified of him. And actually really cute. Some people were able to tame them. said they were like a cat and dog mixed in temperament.

 

[Azulsky]

Sea Stars are currently in trouble because the increasing ocean temps increase the likelihood of them catching various diseases.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Dont care about animals really but i do miss vikings.

I heard they mostly live in minnesota

 

[NEO0MJ]

Such beautiful majestic beasts. I miss them.

Me too
I used to love visiting La Brea Tar Pits.

No Sabre toothed cat?

Oh, that's another good one. Really, a lot of animals from the Ice Age were fascinating.

 

[Omegasquash]

Megalania

Goddamn big lizard, and likely had encounters with humans. Extinct 30 - 40k years ago. Australian, of course.

 

[billeh]

The American bison came really close to extinction from over-hunting in the 18/19th centuries, but they're in fairly healthy numbers and aren't endangered any more.

 

[Omegasquash]

The American bison came really close to extinction from over-hunting in the 18/19th centuries, but they're in fairly healthy numbers and aren't endangered any more.

Let's keep them that way.

 

[DigitalDream]

The Aurochs. When you think of domestication and how ubiquitous cows, bulls, have been to humanity the world over and then think that we killed the wild ancestor from which they were domesticated and descended from forever, it's just sad.

Imagine if there were no more wolves and all we were left with were dogs that are only remotely like the wild ancestor that nature and evolution had created.

The other sad extinction I read about is probably the Steller's Sea Cow. Within 27 years of Europeans finding the animal, it was hunted to extinction because it was so big and slow moving, it was easily captured and hunted for its flesh, it's fat, it's meat etc. It's closest relative is probably the Dugong now, but it was the largest mammal outside of whales. Just sad.

this is super depressing

 

[BorkBork]

Stella Sea Cow, Great Auk, Giant Moa for me. Really wish I could have seen them in person.

The passenger pigeon. Once the most populated bird species on the planet, with flocks that would take hours days to pas overhead, and a species numbering 3 to 5 billion. They were the literal definition of success within the animal kingdom, until humans came along.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon#Extinction

There's a great piece written about the passenger pigeon over at Orion magazine, a century after its extinction:

http://www.orionmagazine-digital.com/orionmagazine/may_june_july_august_2014?pg=20#pg20

 

[TheDangerMan]

The Auroch, basically the precursor of domesticated Cattle. They shaped the human world to a large degree, and I find it sad they are gone.

 

[bengraven]

God I love prehistoric animals. And prehistoric art.

What about the Irish Elk?

 

[Ziffles]

Dont know if I'm actually sad about this... Holy shit this is terrifying.

Reminder that these guys:

are much smaller, and are herbivores... and will still mess you up.

Now imagine one of these guys coming at you:

 

[orochi91]

God I love prehistoric animals. And prehistoric art.

What about the Irish Elk?

Look at that elk.

Magnificent bastard.

 

[Horseress]

These giant birds can stay the fuck out of my planet

 

[Gonzo The Great]

The Quagga looks pretty cool, and scientists are trying to bring it back through selective breeding. Hearing stories like that rekindle my faith in humanity.

 

[bengraven]

Heavily recommend this book.

Beautiful art, meaty summaries about the creature's behavior and diets, then bits on how mankind slaughtered them with no mercy.

You can find cheaper copies though, ishouldadd.

 

[Odrion]

The human one in thirty years.

 

[Delta Assault]

Steller's Sea Cow.

I've always wanted to have a steak that big.

 

[zeemumu]

Probably Resident Evil. that movie isn't consistent with the rest of the movies.