Has anyone seen extinct species?

birdsandbats

birdsandbats

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I remember once reading an article where the author talked to people who had seen extinct species before they went extinct and asked them how they felt about it. I found that article fascinating. Recently I read Joel Sartore's book RARE: Portraits of America's Endangered Species in which he reflects on seeing a Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit behind-the-scenes at Oregon Zoo shortly before the zoo's (and the world's) last specimens died. I was wondering if anyone on this site had seen any extinct species (wild or captive) before they went extinct. Was anyone lucky enough to see a species like Rabb's Fringe-Limbed Tree Frog, Poouli, or the like? I'm not talking about extinct-in-the-wild species. I am willing to bet most ZooChatters have seen those.


Yes, I am aware of this thread, but it got way off-topic and didn't really answer the question.
 
I can't even think of a species that was exhibited at any zoo in my lifetime
and has gone extinct. One I can think of prior to my being born was the thylacine. Others would be passenger pigeon and Carolina parakeet but that is over 100 years ago.
 
Some other possibilities: Baiji, Pyrenean Ibex, Western black rhino, Caribbean monk seal, Japanese Sea Lion, Saudi Gazelle, Bramble Cay melomys, Pinta Island tortoise, ivory-billed woodpecker, dusky seaside sparrow, Atitlán grebe...
If you lived in Hawaii at some point, you've probably seen at least one species that's now extinct, given how rapidly they're losing birds :(
 
Daktari JG said:
I can't even think of a species that was exhibited at any zoo in my lifetime
and has gone extinct. One I can think of prior to my being born was the thylacine. Others would be passenger pigeon and Carolina parakeet but that is over 100 years ago.
Click to expand...
Rabb's Fringe-Limbed Tree Frog was kept in several facilities before going extinct in 2016...

TinoPup said:
Some other possibilities: Baiji, Pyrenean Ibex, Western black rhino, Caribbean monk seal, Japanese Sea Lion, Saudi Gazelle, Bramble Cay melomys, Pinta Island tortoise, ivory-billed woodpecker, dusky seaside sparrow, Atitlán grebe...
If you lived in Hawaii at some point, you've probably seen at least one species that's now extinct, given how rapidly they're losing birds :(
Click to expand...
Was the Ivory-Bill actually ever kept in captivity?
 
I've never heard of any kept in captivity. They were already fairly rare at the turn of the century.
 
I think a few Partula snail species that were Extinct in the Wild have since gone Extinct full-stop within one or two of the UK zoos that keep multiple populations.

None of the species I've seen have gone Extinct yet but I suspect it's only a matter of time.

~Thylo
 
I just realized than in 5 short years, half of Zoochat members would have seen one. By then the two last Northern White Rhinos will die.
 
Jurek7 said:
I just realized than in 5 short years, half of Zoochat members would have seen one. By then the two last Northern White Rhinos will die.
Click to expand...

Half seems like a high number, I doubt that many of us will have seen one unfortunately. I know I've certainly missed my chance :(

~Thylo
 
Kakapo said:
The title of the thread is "Has anyone seen extinct species?"
Click to expand...
Why the need for such an unnecessarily pedantic comment? Jurek's comment, to me, seems well within bounds for this topic; sure, it's widely regarded as a subspecies rather than a species, but it is definitely a near-extinct taxonomical entity that a few zoochatters have been fortunate enough to see before it went extinct. Whether that taxon is a species or subspecies (an inconsistent and subjective system) surely isn't that important?

I know I've missed my chance to see one. I was in San Diego in 2010, but this was before I knew a lot about zoos and rare species in them... So I went to San Diego Zoo and Sea World instead.
 
Vision said:
Why the need for such an unnecessarily pedantic comment? Jurek's comment, to me, seems well within bounds for this topic; sure, it's widely regarded as a subspecies rather than a species, but it is definitely a near-extinct taxonomical taxon that a few zoochatters have been fortunate enough to see before it went extinct. Whether that taxon is a species or subspecies (an inconsistent and subjective system) surely isn't that important?

I know I've missed my chance to see one... I was in San Diego in 2010, but this was before I knew a lot about zoos and which zoos kept rare species... So I went to San Diego Zoo and Sea World instead.
Click to expand...
Kakapo said:
The title of the thread is "Has anyone seen extinct species?"
Click to expand...
Extinct subspecies are well within the parameters of this thread.
 
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