Measuring up to 30 ft long and weighing 8.8-11 short tons, Stellar's Sea Cow was "discovered" in 1741 by the Bering expedition at this location (the only confirmed area where they were ever seen).

A relative of the manatee, the massive sea mammal was a slow-moving and social creature with no teeth (just keratinous plates). True to form, the gentle creature was hunted to extinction by 1768.

Great job, guys.

view full location details...

Located in the Arctic Ocean off the Siberian coast, Wrangel Island is thought to be the last known location for wooly mammoths.

Research indicates that the mammoths were inhabiting the island as late as 2000 BC, which is nearly 5,000 years after they are thought to have gone extinct on the mainland.

Today, Wrangel Island is home to a weather station and to Chukchi (indigenous Arctic) fishing villages.

view full location details...

Passenger pigeons were at one time the most abundant birds in North America. Estimates of their population in the United States at the time of European arrival were between 3-5 billion. On September 1, 1914, the last passenger pigeon (named Martha) died at the Cincinnati Zoo.

According to a 2014 study by Taiwanese biologist Chih-Ming Hung, the primary reasons for their extinction were commercial exploitation of pigeon meat on a massive scale and loss of habitat.

The methods for hunting the bird read like an adaption of medieval torture methods: cut down trees with nests, set the tree on fire, poison the fire with sulfur to intoxicate them, etc.

The dead pigeons were then stacked onto rail cars, shipped across the country, and sold by the dozen. The meat was a cheap source of protein for the poor and slaves, and it was even used to fatten pigs.

Thanks for the meal, pigeons!

view full location details...