For Mama and Aunt Jeannie --- 9 Wild Animals That Vanished During Our Lifetime

                              Gastric-Brooding Frog

This eastern Australian native ate its young—sort of. Unlike other frogs, the gastric-brooding frog incubated its offspring in its stomach. Scientists presume the female swallowed its eggs, and after six to seven weeks, fully formed frogs emerged from her mouth. Unfortunately, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared this unique genus extinct in 2002. The reasons behind its disappearance remain unclear, but timber harvesting and water quality are suspected .

                                Ivory-Billed Woodpecker 

The IUCN lists this bird, endemic to the United States and Cuba, as critically endangered. But despite many intensive searches, the last confirmed sighting was in 1987. It was reportedly spotted in the Big Woods region of Arkansas in 2004, but evidence—including a “poor-quality” video—remains controversial. (It’s debated whether the bird filmed was just another type of woodpecker.) Latest studies contend that the species is likely extinct. The culprits: logging, clearance for agriculture, and hunting.

Javan Tiger

Tiger populations have dropped 97 percent within the last 100 years. Among them is the Javan tiger, which the IUCN declared extinct in 2003 (though it hadn’t been spotted since 1976, in the Meru Betiri National Park in Java, Indonesia). Thanks to recent conservation efforts, the Bengal tiger in India might stand a better chance. Poaching is down, and more natural deaths of the big cats may signal that they’re recovering.

                                    Spix’s Macaw

Also known as the little blue macaw, this Brazilian native inspired the main characters of the animated film Rio. Several live in captivity, but the species likely went extinct in the wild because of trade and habitat loss, among other factors. The Spix’s macaw was last sighted in the wild in 2000 in a preservation site in Bahia, Brazil.

                         Po’ouli or Black-Faced Honeycreeper

The po’ouli likely went extinct a year or two after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the San Diego Zoo tried to save it in 2004, when three individuals were confirmed to exist. The conservationists were only able to capture one of them for breeding, but it turned out to be male—leading them to believe that no female remains. The captive po’ouli has since died. 

                               Yangtze River Dolphin 

This small white dolphin, endemic to the Yangtze River (one of the busiest waterways in the planet), had been around for 20 million years before scientists announced its extinction in 2006. They blamed ship collisions, dams, overfishing, and environmental destruction.

                              Caribbean Monk Seal 

The only seals known to be native to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean monk seals—or “sea wolves,” as Christopher Columbus called them in 1494—were last seen in 1952 on the Serranilla Bank between Honduras and Jamaica. Hunters began targeting the seals for their fur, meat, and oil when the Italian explorer landed in the New World; fishing and coastal development drove the species to its demise in later years. The IUCN declared the Caribbean monk seal extinct in 1986.

                           Western Black Rhinoceros 

About a million black rhinos roamed Africa in the early 1900s. By 2011, the IUCN had declared them extinct. The causes: sports hunting, then agricultural clearing. Economic growth in China, where traditional medicine promotes powdered rhino horn as a cure-all, ultimately spelled the end of the species.

                              Pinta Island Tortoise

The recent discovery of hybrid tortoises descended from this Galápagos Island native gave scientists hope. But the 2012 death of the last surviving Pinta Island tortoise, Lonesome George, was nonetheless devastating. A Hungarian scientist spotted him in 1971, when the species was thought to be extinct because of meat harvesting and the introduction of goats and pigs that laid waste to its habitat. Today, Lonesome George is just another museum exhibit. 

Jenny says , listen  grown-ups , hear me well . 

I am 11-years-old , I became  an environmentalist  to help my mama  and  aunt Jeannie , take  a second  and realize what  you are  leaving  us "NOTHING."  

This is what you have to do , because  we are too young  at the moment to go head to head  with the  big  companies , to insure  our  future you need to get your  butts in gear . 

You must stop Big Oil and coal and natural gas. The planet is being destroyed because of fossil fuels. We have renewable energy solutions. Change is needed now. Change is good. We need to go to a electric car world. Get rid of all the gas powered everything. Lawn mowers the riding kind put out so much pollution. A new invention that connects to exhaust pipe filters 98% of the pollutants out. It cost 30 dollars. Save the environment and save the world. We need everything in our world. Nature has a purpose for everything except humans. We need to realize this is one world. Men are killing everything. A mans world that is failing. Like Nero they'll fiddle while everything burns. They never do seem to learn. Always believe they are more cleaver than the ones that came before. Obviously they really are worse.

I wrote my byline  and  asked my daddy to  write it so  all the  grown-ups  will hopefully understand .

Thank you for  reading  and take heed to a very important message .

Jennifer Carano