Extinct Animals

They are called bellwether species, also known as sentinel species.

Paleozoic - climate change

Mesozoic - meteor

the American lion was the second largest of the lion spicies, right after the cave lion. males averagely weighed 517 pounds, and females 386 pounds. they could grow larger. large males ranged anywhere near from 517 to 800 pounds.

Tigers are getting extinct because us humans are cutting down the forests causing less and less room for them to hunt and have a reasonable amount of territory. Poaching is another reason.

Eyes very wide apart (so they can see all around them)

Very sensitive hearing and a fairly good sense of smell

They have warrens/burrows which they dig to hide in, away from predators.

Powerful back legs (which can let them run pretty fast)

I couldn't find the answer anywhere Spectacled bears are NOT extinct. They are Threatened and need to be protected. For more information with photos and more, go to: http://www.squidoo.com/spectacled-bears

Extinction does matter because loss of species can have effects on other species including humans. It upsets the food chain and removes a section of the food web, therefore previous predators would have to depend on another species. This means that there are more predators competing for the same prey, leading to a decrease in the prey and predator. Some of these plants/animals humans may eat and therefore our choice of food would become more limited. Also, many organisms have been found to be beneficial to humans in medicine. An example of this is the plant quinine which is a natural cure for malaria. By more species becoming extinct, we could be losing important resources. :) And animals are cute!

because of the habitat!

There is controversy on this subject, most accounts state that in around 1959, the last wild Caspian tiger died. But there are other reports, although not totally substantiated in today's documents, that as late as in the 1970s, there were still a rare few in the wild until the last one died in that decade.

Unfortunately, too little, too late, was done to protect the Tasmanian tiger. In fact, a bounty was placed on the Tasmanian tiger as farmers feared than as a threat to livestock.

The Tasmanian government did not act to protect the Thylacine (as it was properly called) until 1936, the same year as its believed extinction.

the plants started to change and the herbavores started to die so the carnivivors had to kill each other and went almost extinct and then a meteorite shower finished them off.

Allot of the affects will depend on the animal that becomes extinct, and the ecosystem they inhabit. In an extreme case, if plankton was wiped out of the oceans, most whales would die out from lack of food. All the species that depend on plankton, such as Sea Turtles, coral beds, and the young creatures that rely on both to thrive would starve without this broad group to feed from. As the food chain collapsed, species further down the chain would suffer as prey became scarce, populations, and births would drop, increasing the decline. Species like the seal and shark would have to hunt further for prey, if it could be found at all causing strain and eventual die off. The cycle would go on and on. Most of the time, if an entire species becomes extinct, then all the animals depending on that animal will suffer the same fate.

Now, if things happen the other way around, and the predator species becomes extinct first. For example, say Sharks die out, seals would overpopulate their habitat and consume all their prey causing the same type of collapse, but starting smaller, then snowballing as the affects multiplied through out the environment.

they competed along side other loner predators and lost this also killed off cave bear and smilodon humans won cause of throwing spears


Improved: Why/How did these animals become extinct? Many hypotheses exist. The Dire Wolf skeleton is more stout than that of the Gray Wolf, suggesting an adaptation for power rather than speed. Most of its prey species were rather sedentary herbivorous animals that were not able to run very fast to escape predation. Scientists suspect that once those relatively slow-moving prey animals became extinct, the Dire Wolf may not have been able to hunt and capture swifter prey in order to survive.

Source?: http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/mystery/fg_direwolf.html

Tis has been demonstrated in the American west where wolves were eliminated. Elk and deer populations grew destroying trees and ecology. This impacted birds and area water ways. In general the local ecology and sustainability went into the dumper.

It is estimated that 99% of all animals that have ever lived are now extinct.

The Megalodon was approximately 40 feet (12 metres) long, although fossil records show that they could often grow as large as 78 feet (18 metres). So if you were to stand the Megalodon on its nose it would be as tall as a six story building. I've heard this question many times, and to make it quick, the males were estimated of 70-120 ft. while the females were 80-140 ft. Here's a fact that effects the fish: the females are always bigger. about 40 ft

M ore like 50 ft

Dinasaurs was living on earth about 100 million and 50 million years.

They have been on the earth from 200 million and 20 million years ago, and die out at about 65 million years ago at the end of Upper Cretaceous.

• Destruction of habitat
• Encroachment by dominant species such as humans
• Over-hunting by predators
• The death of prey species or food sources
• Natural disasters
• The spread of viruses or bacteria
• Competition from superior organisms

Extinct usually means that no more individuals of the species that are capable of reproducing are still alive. If there are any individuals of the extinct species still alive, since they cannot reproduce for some reason, they are the last generation.

No, many types of animals are facing extinction.

It isn't just Africa with endangered animals. There are just as many in other countries, it just so happens that the ones in Africa are more none