This is quite Entertaining … a list of Extinct mammals,
reptiles, freshwater fish and amphibians can be found in Wikipedia … which includes
insects though this section is not complete – could it ever be?!
 |
| Glen Alladale in the Highlands of Scotland - where Moose have been introduced ... |
The site even gives the last date when a specimen was observed
in the wild, or where it is not known, the approximate date of Extinction …
… and only those species extinct since the Ice Age flood-waters
opened up the English Channel, about 10,000 years ago, separating us from
Europe, are given.
 |
| Not a Moose, but an Irish Elk - a skeletal reconstruction (1856). Extinct about 6,000 BC |
Re-introduction and re-establishment has occurred … even as
far as Moose (surprised me) being released into a fenced reserve on the
Alladale Estate in the Highlands of Scotland.
 |
| Moor Frog - turns blue for a few days: still seen on the Continent. Extinct in the UK about 1,000 AD |
But I think probably the Re-Wilding of Britain deserves a
fuller post at some stage … for this A-Z I’ll stick with Extinct …
I’ll list a few “E” for Extinct animals – though some can be
found on the continent:
Images:
An American Pika in Sequoia National Park - and
European fossilised skeletons
European fossilised skeletons
Elk, Eurasian Brown Bear ... well not so many “E”s …
...
so I’ll includes
a few other ones of interest … Walrus, Woolly Rhinoceros, Cave Lion, Pika and
fossilised skeleton of one, Irish Elk and the Short-haired Bumble Bee …
 |
| Woolly Rhinoceros - image |
 |
| Short-haired Bumble Bee - extinct in the UK about 1989. It was one of 4 species of bumblebee introduced into New Zealand between 1885 and 1903 - for pollination of red clover. |
That is E for Elegantly Expressed by Mr R’s poem on “It is NOT good to be Extinct, it means you don’t Exist …”
please protect our Endangered species thus preventing any more
Extinctions … from Aspects of British
County Rare Breeds …
Counties with the letter E
… (note some Counties have
been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)
England: East Suffolk;
East Sussex; Essex
Northern Ireland: none
Scotland: East Lothian;
City of Edinburgh
Wales: none
Wikipedia’s List of Extinct Animals of the UK
Wikipedia’s List of Endangered Species in the UK
Stephen Tremp has written about Extinctions relative to all species in the world ... see his post here - just adds extras in to this post - which is about British Rare Breeds ... frightening to think about ...
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
49 comments:
LOVE Mr R's poem - and agree wholeheartedly.
I hope that we can bring back animals/birds/insects from the verge of extinction. So much.
The word extinct always makes me sad, although I think we have to be careful with re-introductions, because nature shifts and adjusts and we could be damaging the new ecology that has come into place. Your topic is really making me think :)
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - Dragon Diaries
Interesting post as usual Hillary on Extinct animals. Thanks for the post and sharing it!
Edutaining! as usual. Loved Mr R's poem! And also the term 'short haired bee' conjured up in my head an image of the opposite - a bee with long Rapunzel-like tresses - obviously, need more coffee to go with my reading :-)
Nila
Madly-in-Verse
It does make you wonder how many insects might be going extinct all the time and we have no idea. Great post today, at your mention of wooly rhino, I wondered if there were ever saber-toothed tigers in Britain in the past.
Phillip | E is for Envelope Exchange
An interesting read if you like nonfiction is the World Without Us - there's a chapter about extinction - a theory of humans and the extinction of large or super large animals in North America and other continents as humans migrated.
Maui Jungalow
I don't like to think of those bees being extinct in the UK. They seem to have diminished in the US, too, but I have seen a few around early this spring.
I sometimes wonder if we, humans, will ever go extinct. Scary thought but it could be a possibility. Thanks for sharing this vital info on extinction. You seem to be passionate about wildlife.
Like others commented, the word extinct makes me very sad!
I wish we could have seen woolly rhino's. They are so beautiful
In my country (the United States) our most famous extinct creature is the Passenger Pigeon. It's sad, thinking of those animals that are no longer with us. There is a scientific movement to "de-extinct" some extinct animals; the passenger pigeon and the wooly mammoth being among them. The Unknown Journey Ahead agingonthespectrum.blogspot.com
I often wonder why new breeds don't naturally occur as older breeds become extinct. Presumably the number of creatures roaming the earth decreases year on year. One day there will only be cats left!
Another day in Amble Bay!
Ah, there certainly were some amazing animals around in the past. For some reason, our first instinct is to kill them.
Oddly new species are being found very frequently in the deep waters of the oceans in locations where humans rarely venture...
Says everything you need to know about human beings doesn't it ?
Very sad to see the number of animals on the list of extinct and endangered species. On a positive note, thank you for Mr R's science poem on extinction. My kids will enjoy it.
As humans we are responsible for the extinction of a number of species:( The Woolly Rhino was an interesting one Celebrating 'Women & their work' all April: E for An Education for all
If you need more moose we have an over-abundance of them in Newfoundland. They were introduced to the island about a hundred years ago and their population exploded. Tens of thousands of them, and despite regular hunting their numbers remain high. They regularly cause accidents on the highways during mating/migrating season.
E - Jumbo the Elephant
one day at the rate we're going we can include ourselves in being an extinct species was my first thought after reading your delightful post :) We expect plants animals insects to become extinct but it does seem as if the attrition rate has speeded up . Though new things come along also ..
Thank you .. that is some wooly rhino ...Pika and the fossilised skeleton of one is intriguing!
Hello Hilary, hey we're on the same page with today's post! A woolly rhinoceros? How cool is that. Wish we still had them around today.
I think concepts can become extinct as well ... like compassion, altruism, and patience. If we keep on as we are going, Man will soon find himself extinct much faster than the dinosaur. :-(
Hiya! How you doing? I've been working my way around to visiting a few of my favourite bloggers, so it was nice to see you stopping by my own blog. Not sure how active I'm going to continue to be, for now, perhaps one a month and we will go from there.
Extinct animals have always fascinated me. It's especially sad when the extinct animal is so because of man. One of the primary ones I always think of is the Dodo bird. The Dodo has always interested me. So much so, I wrote a poem about them at one time.
I'll be stopping in again. Hope all is well with you.
We are losing bee populations in the US too. It's very disheartening. I wanted to throw a party when I saw honeybees in my garden last summer. The previous three years I'd only seen a few bumblebee species and some wasps.
I'm glad they are brining the moose back to Scotland. Don't know if it is the national animal of Sweden (or if there's even a national animal there, or just here in the US). Anyway, if it isn't, it should be, or so I think. And once upon a long time ago, I lived in Essex, for just a little while. A longer while in Kent. But I'm rambling now. Love all the information you are presenting here. Later, my friend.
Interesting post. Two of my grandchildren have been studying endangered animals, and they share what they learned with me. One of them is particularly enamored with the cheetah.
Trudy @ Reel Focus
Food in Film: Eggplants
Extinct creatures live on in books and blogs. Are any lessons learned from their time on earth? Surely they made a contribution and something evolved from their efforts to exist
I think that extinct list is going to grow rapidly if something is not done about paoachers and gun happy people who shoot for the fun of it!!! Cheers Diane
Great to hear moose have been reintroduced here. Didn't know about that. I wonder if the short-haired bumblebee was competed out of the market by the more heavy and, well, bumbling ones you normally see. It looks a bit delicate. Sadly though, most extinctions are caused by the deadliest predator on the planet: us.
On another post I have just seen a verse about an echidna. It's also quite a coincidence that the ice age separation of Britain and France by the destruction of the chalk land bridge featured in the newspapers yesterday.
@ EC – so glad you listened to Mr R’s poem … it does bring it home. I hope conservation can become part of the norm and we look after all our species.
@ Sophie – yes ‘extinct’ isn’t a good word is it. We do need to be careful – and I think they are … but the law of unintended consequences is always an unknown … I’m glad the topic is giving you something to think about – me too …
@ Nas – I’m glad you’re reading the posts and being aware of them …
@ Nila – thanks so much – I’ve taken on board your edutainment ‘tag’ … and that Mr R’s poem resonated. Poor old short-haired bee … with flowing locks! When I read your comment I was also needing more coffee!
@ Phillip – insects are a completely different story … so many of them, and so many we have no idea about. Yes there were sabre-toothed tigers – found in caves here in the UK – this link takes you to the Devon ones I wrote about …
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/west-country-south-zeal-menhir-part-4.html
@ Courtney – thanks for the link to the book World Without Us – I’ll check it out … I know little about animals or history of North America …
@ Lynn – oh sadly we’ve lost quite a few species of bees or they are definitely on the endangered list – we do have documentaries on the varieties of bees …
@ Vinodini – I’m just aware that we need to protect our environment in all its parts … animals, plants, insects, etc otherwise life on earth will disappear. Also if I write about a subject I try to give as much pertinent information as possible – yet keep my content interesting …
@ Sylvia – ‘extinct’ is such a traumatic word isn’t it … some of these large ancient extinct animals were quite amazing, but haven’t sadly stayed the test of time in Europe or Asia …
@ BookWorm – interesting to read about the Passenger Pigeon being extinct in the States. Very sad knowing that some animals have gone extinct – but it seems to be part of the cycle of life … and yes they are trying to resurrect some extinct animals … we just need to be careful … but it is research …
@ Keith – I think they probably did – which is why the many cow populations is really large around the world – but since we’ve been farming and particularly in recent hundreds of years so much has been learnt … definitely the number of creatures roaming have decreased year on year … sad but true – and yes only cats – not good!
@ Arpan – thanks for visiting – you’re right about our first instinct is to kill them – originally for food …
@ Mel – yes the oceans are still a source of new species … sadly we are getting down to those depths … but let’s hope sense prevails – hope!
@ Cynthia – glad you enjoyed Mr R’s science poem and to know that your kids will enjoy the poem … the sadness of extinction is terrible, but let’s hope endangered species can be kept from the brink …
@ Namy – I suspect we are responsible for plenty of species – but some went in the Ice Age … good to see you and thanks for your visit…
@ CD – do you have an over abundance of Moose in Newfoundland – are they not diseased? I see Newfoundland is an island – perhaps that stock is not infected. Difficult if they are so prolific – I understand about causing accidents … a challenge …
@ Susan – I suspect we may well be extinct at some stage … I just didn’t suggest it – thankfully others have! Glad the pictures bring some aspects to life (or extinct ‘life’!) …
@ Stephen – yes we are on the same page today … we had a lot of interesting animals – the bones have been found … even down here where I live – they wandered around!!
@ Roland – you may well be so right – just a depressing thought … and if so we could well be extinct ‘fairly soon’ … wise words for us to think about …
@ Jeffrey – I’m ok .. and it’s good to see you again – just glad to comment – when and if you blog. Yes the Dodo is a sad case of human intervention … but that was Africa …
@ Laurel – yes we’re told about the bees in the States too – I’m so glad you saw honey bees in your garden … I’m not that up on the different species of bees – some are very obvious … we’ve had very large bumbling ones around recently – wasps are good too!
@ Inger – it’s a trial .. but we’ll see how it goes: the Elk is your national animal .. but in North America there is another species called an Elk … but your Swedish Alg is a Moose in American English and Elk in British English – c/o Wiki .. but defeated me! I’m just happy you’re enjoying the posts and remembrances of England … and your stay here.
@ Trudy – good to see you … and so I’m delighted to read your grandchildren will be happy with the science poem and some of these posts – perhaps I should have done southern African animals … but brilliant they’re interested in animals of any sort – the cheetah are just lovely I’ve seen them out of my car window … just below – very lucky me!
@ Joanne – yes we can learn from extinct animals and still are – but every living thing is dependent on something else … one goes extinct – so does a chain. Sadly we’re killing too many of them – and the whole of earth is a whole …
@ Diane – I agree if we’re not very careful about our wild life – as you say the hunting and need for so called ‘traditional medicines’ don’t help – not a happy world …
@ Nick – yes I think I’ll have to write some in the Reflections post about rewilding … there are some toxic diseases that bees seem to be prone to … it’s a whole another part of the scientific world. Except these things make a return and surprise us – let’s hope the short-haired bee is one … but as you say the worst predator is us.
@ Bob – I don’t get a paper … so I’ll have to look perhaps in the Library – I expect Saturday’s paper will show me something re the Ice Age separation …
I haven’t come across the A-Z on Echidna .. hope I find it … very rare by the sound of it …
Thanks everyone – those I haven’t visited I’ll be across .. but wonderful to have your comments and ideas – cheers Hilary
Very interesting, Hilary. Thank you. My garden was visited by bumble bees one summer. Very similar to the short haired one you show, so now I wonder how rare they might been. It was such a treat, as I had not seen bumble bees in a long, long time.
Erudite education & eminent entertainment! Evidently extinction endangers extant & enmeshed exemplars....oh, I give up – it’s too hard!
(What word starts with E and only has one letter in it? Envelope!)
CLICK HERE for Bazza’s stupendous Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
It is sad to hear a lose of any population. There are a few endangered around me in just pollinators.In California they have to import bees to ensure a good almond crop just to keep up with demand.
Then there's Erectus (as in Homo erectus), one of man's predecessors. Extinct for quite a while now.
Extinctions make me sad.
Wikipedia never ceases to amaze me. Sad to see all of the extinct animals. Happy Thursday, Hilary. Cheers, D
Such an important topic as we need to make sure more creatures don't disappear from the planet. The Tasmanian Tiger is extinct but I like to think they're still out there somewhere. Great post.
Highlands Days of Fun
My parents once bought me a book about the extinct creatures which once roamed Earth (both dinosaurs and other animals). Later, my mother bought another copy and donated it to my elementary school library in my uncle's memory, since he loved science and dinosaurs. It's so sad to hear about species going extinct.
Extinction seems to be a popular topic today. Sad to think about all the creatures there once were that are no more.
Discarded Darlings - Jean Davis, Speculative Fiction Writer, A to Z: Editing Fiction
Reintroducing moose to Scotland, what a great idea.'
Saw a programme on TV about the pika and other animals in it's very cold habitat. It will probably not survive the planetary warming.
Your topic today is thought-provoking and controversial. Do species have a predetermined expiration date; would some species become extinct even without the invasion of their territory by other species? Also, would new species not exist if others had not died out? I'm not sure Charles Darwin had all the answers.
Recently, the plight of the honeybee seems to be in the spotlight.
Who would have thought that bees would become endangered?
Just seems strange because there are millions of bees... or so it seems. Yet, the writing has been on the wall from a decade ago, when beekeepers noticed their honeybee populations had started dying off at increasingly rapid rates.
@ Sharon – there are 250 bee species in the UK and 20,000 worldwide apparently. I still see some bees around and it’s lovely they come for our garden nectar …
@ Bazza – wonderful- thank you! Oh yes ok .. ‘envelope’ only has one vowel … clever!
@ Steve – It’s desperate to lose a species isn’t it – and I’ve read about the bees being ‘taken’ to the almond orchards in CA …
@Jacqui – oh man!! – yes of course Homo Erectus – a few of the hominids have gone extinct … our turn will come!
@ Liz – extinctions are terrible to learn about – especially recent ones, that could have been saved.
@ Denise – yes Wiki is extraordinary with its information – thank goodness: I do use a lot of my books, exhibitions and museums in researching information …
@ Pamela – good to meet you … and yes there are other animals around the world that need protecting too …
@ Carrie-Anne – I used to love similar books and have some here, or inherited some from my mother or uncle – wonderful that your mother gave the school a book in your uncle’s memory … I hope it generated a love of science for a few pupils …
@ Jean – I’ve found one other extinction post under E – but I expect there are others … very sad to think about extinct species …
@ Jo – well they’re giving Moose a try in the Highlands. The Pika sounds an interesting animal …
@ Gail – too many questions!! The answer is of course we don’t know do we – probably the question to be asked – is if we weren’t around would the world still go round – and I guess it would with some species, not with others … we just are able to write and record the details … will it help in the end, or are we just expediting zoological demise ….??
@ Michelle – the honeybee is only one of many species … but it’s good that it is being studied and understood better – it does seem strange that bees would be endangered – yet there are so many varieties of them … and the parasites are attacking them – caused by us perhaps …
Thanks everyone – so glad you’ve read these ideas and comments with interest – definitely we need to help our world all we can … cheers Hilary
I didn't know we had moose in Scotland. I've only once seen one in the wild in the US.
It is quite amazing the range of animals that have live on these shores over the millenia.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings - Shapeshifters and Werewolves
I feel badly for the endangered animals, and for all those that have become extinct in the last 1,000 years, since I assume it's mainly due to human interference.
The Wikipedia list misled me at first -- I caught the osprey on the list and was wondering how it could be extinct, then saw that it's only extinct in the UK, not elsewhere. And then I read a bit more and realised it recolonised in Britain in 1954. If I wasn't so busy, one of the things I'd like to do is become an editor on Wikipedia! :P
The Moose will surely love it at Glen Alladale in the Scottish highlands. I'm intrigued with the little 'blue' frog ;-)
@ Anabel - it's a trial ... but will be interesting to see if there's enough room to support them - Alladale is a large estate. Glad you saw one in the States ...
@ Natasha - it is amazing to see the range of animals we've had and still have on these shores over the millennia ...
@ Deniz - we're in a catch 22 situation with the loss of endangered species - it was something I only really became aware of in South Africa ... the introduction of guns didn't help - yes and a larger population.
I quite often need to rethink Wiki - and check the naming of things as there's so often two or three names - different in other parts of the world ... Osprey to me are Fish Eagles from South Africa ... and yes you've got it right re the recolonisation of them in the 1950s ...
You'd make a good editor of Wiki - I wouldn't mind too ...
@ Diedre - I hope there's enough room for the Moose in Glen Alladale ... but anything reintroduced is carefully monitored. That little 'blue' frog is wonderful isn't it - nature is always amazing us ..
Cheers to you all - thanks so much for your visits ... Hilary
Wooly rhinoceros! Crazy! Sad about the bumble bee, but interesting with the reintroduction of wildlife. Could definitely be its own post.
A to Z 2017: Magical and Medicinal Herbs
Hi Sara - yes they were woolly apparently ... I'd love to have seen one - but they departed 'some' years ago. There are masses of varieties of bees - how you tell them apart I don't know ... but scientists do - thank fully! I could do wildlife and re-wilding at some stage ... cheers and thanks for visiting - Hilary
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