Fractured Extinct Creatures Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tasmanian Tiger

The Tasmanian tiger was, unusually so for a marsupial, a large carnivore that lived in Australia, its island state of Tasmania, and New Guinea. Also known as the thylacine, its common name was the Tasmanian tiger because its back and tail had stripes similar to that mighty beast. An endangered species before the arrival of European settlers to this country, they were really polished off after that event. Several causes contributed to their final extinction early in the 20th century.

These were a bounty placed on its head, killer dogs, habitat loss and disease.

Answer: Woolly Mammoth

The woolly mammoth was the last in the series of mammoths that were once found throughout northern Eurasia and North America. With its closest relative being the Asian elephant, the woolly mammoth male stood at eleven foot in height and weighed almost seven short tons.

The females were proportionately smaller. The major difference between it and the elephant were that the ears and tail were a lot smaller. This was to counteract the effects of frostbite. Its fur helped keep this large creature warm in those cold areas of the world. Co-existing initially with early humans, where it was hunted for its meat, and tusks and bones (used to make tools and huts), this magnificent beast became extinct in mainland areas more than 10,000 years ago, with isolated groups lasting another four to six thousand on small islands in the Arctic and off the coast of Alaska.

Answer: Spectacled Cormorant

The spectacled cormorant is a bird that once inhabited the Kamchatka coast of Russia and its nearby islands. It was a big bird, the largest of its species, clumsy and somewhat reluctant to fly because of its size. This made it easy to catch, alas. First identified by the German botanist Georg Steller, who accompanied Vitus Bering on his 1741 Kamchatka expedition, it wasn't too long after that that an influx of fur traders and whale hunters converged on this area of the world.

As a result, and horrifyingly so, this unique bird had become extinct by 1850.

Answer: Caspian Tiger

The large and beautiful Caspian tiger, that had once roamed wild and free from the Middle East right across to China for thousands of years, was finally killed off altogether by man in the late 1980s. Searches for any trace of them by biologists for many years have proved fruitless. So heartbreaking.

The reasons for that heartless extinction included ruthless hunting by "sportsmen" and members of the military, habitat loss which in turn led to the shrinking of their natural food sources, and a heartless bounty on their beautiful skins.

Answer: Portuguese Ibex

The Portuguese ibex was an animal that once ranged wide areas of Spain and Portugal. It was hunted to extinction, not only for its meat, but for stones in its stomach that were thought to possess powerful medicinal qualities - even though it was proved by the late 1570s that these were ineffective. The last known Portuguese ibex died in 1892, gone forever.

Answer: Carolina Parakeet

The Carolina parakeet was a small lovely bird with a bright yellow head, orange face and bright green-hued feathers. It once ranged widely throughout the entire United States where it lived in forests and along river banks. By the 1850s this little bird had become a rare sight, hunted almost to extinction for its feathers and because of loss of habitat.

In addition to those two causes, its inborn behaviour of flocking to the side of birds downed by hunters led it to be an easy target for further slaughter.

By the early twentieth century, it had disappeared altogether - and Mother Nature wept.

Answer: Barbados raccoon

The Barbados raccoon, once found on that island nation in the eastern Caribbean, was made extinct by man in 1964. This animal was actually introduced by humans several centuries earlier, but why is uncertain. It was a small creature, verging on dwarf size.

It had dark grey fur, with a tinge of red around its neck, and the usual mask like markings on its delicate face. Tourism, with its resultant habitat loss, is believed to be the major contributing factor in this little creature's demise.

Answer: American Lion

Yes, believe it or not, the United States once had its own lion, endemic to that nation and the northern parts of South America as well. It was one of the largest cats ever known to man, with its size almost 25% larger than the African lion of today. Amazingly, there were one hundred different species of this lion that once roamed throughout the Americas.

This beautiful, stately beast is believed to have become extinct during the Quaternary extinction event which saw the demise of many large animals world wide.

Answer: California Tapir

The California tapir became extinct in the Americas some 12,000 years ago, with the main cause of its demise being the repeated glaciations of the Pleistocene age. Until then, it could be found in most areas of these two continents for at least fifty million years.

Answer: Giant Beaver

The giant beaver was a very large creature found in North America during the Pleistocene age. It was over six feet long and seven foot tall and weighed more than a fully grown man. Impressive indeed. The main difference in appearance, apart from size, between it and the modern beaver, were that its hind legs were a lot shorter, but the feet on the end of them were much larger. Because of its size and resultant lung capacity, it could stay under water for extended periods of time. Believed to have died out about 10,000 years ago, this fascinating creature's brain was actually smaller than today's beaver.

This may have contributed to its eventual extinction. Scientists also believe an extra terrestrial impact may have also played a part, by destroying large portions of its habitat.

It should be noted though that the population of this creature had already started to dwindle before this event, that probably administered the coup de grace.