When a species is gone, we don't remove the page. We transform it into a eulogy. This is the archive of what we've lost.
Ceratotherium simum cottoni
Extinction Year: 2023
Location: Kenya
The northern white rhino is functionally extinct. The last male died in 2018, and the last two females in 2023. Scientists are working on using stored genetic material to attempt to bring back the subspecies.
Diceros bicornis longipes
Extinction Year: 2011
Location: Cameroon
The West African black rhino was declared extinct in 2011 after surveys failed to find any individuals in Cameroon, their last known habitat. Poaching had wiped out the entire subspecies.
Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica
Extinction Year: 2000
Location: France / Spain
The Pyrenean ibex was the first species to be brought back through cloning, only to die shortly after birth. The last wild member died in 2000, and the last cloned individual died in 2003.
Lipotes vexillifer
Extinction Year: 2006
Location: China (Yangtze River)
The Baiji, or Yangtze River Dolphin, was declared functionally extinct in 2006 after an exhaustive survey failed to find a single individual. Industrial development in the Yangtze proved too much for this ancient species.
Ectopistes migratorius
Extinction Year: 1914
Location: North America
Once the most abundant bird in North America with flocks of billions, the passenger pigeon was hunted to extinction within a few decades. The last known individual, Martha, died in 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Thylacinus cynocephalus
Extinction Year: 1936
Location: Tasmania, Australia
The thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Hunted, trapped, and pushed out of its habitat, the last known thylacine died in captivity in 1936.
When the Vaquita, the Javan Rhino, or any other critically endangered species is lost, we will add their memorial to this archive. We document extinction as it happens.