What’s Your Favorite Extinct Species? Scientists’ Top Picks
Dodos and dinos are emblems of extinction, but there are many other unsung species no longer among us.
Besides dinosaurs and the famously flightless dodo, probably only a few.
That's why Weird Animal Question of the Week—always a fan of the underdog—tackled Jaiden Gwynn’s question: “What are some animals that have gone extinct, either in the wild or completely, that we don’t hear or think about often?”
• The fantastic-looking carnivorous marsupial called the thylacine was native to Australia and New Guinea. The striped, dog-size mammal declined due in part to hunting, and the last captive animal died in 1936. Some Australians believe the thylacine still exists, though—enough that in 2005, an Australian magazine offered a million-dollar reward for anyone who could prove that creature still exists.
• In 2012, Japanese authorities declared the Japanese river otter extinct. Last spotted in the wild in 1979, the aquatic animal suffered due to widespread hunting and loss of habitat. (Also see
