22 Animal Species We’ve Lost Forever in the Last Century

The world we share with countless species is growing smaller, and for some, it’s already too late. Over the past century, human activity, coupled with environmental changes, has pushed a heartbreaking number of animals into extinction. These stories aren’t just about loss—they’re cautionary tales of how fragile life on Earth truly is. Let’s check out what creatures that disappeared forever and what their absence means for us.

Smooth Handfish

The smooth handfish once lived in the waters off Tasmania and stood out for its unusual habit of "walking" along the seabed using its fins. It wasn’t a particularly fast swimmer, which made it vulnerable to environmental changes. Overfishing and habitat degradation led to its decline, and by 2020, it was officially declared extinct. This marked the first marine, bony fish species lost in modern times.

Bramble Cay Melomys

The Bramble Cay melomys, a small rodent, was confined to a tiny coral island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Its habitat, barely above sea level, was steadily submerged due to rising oceans caused by climate change. By 2016, it was gone—the first mammal extinction directly attributed to global warming.

Yangtze River Dolphin

Known as the baiji in China, the Yangtze River dolphin was a cultural icon and revered as a peaceful river spirit. However, industrial development along the Yangtze turned its waters into an uninhabitable wasteland. Overfishing, ship traffic, and pollution drove this gentle creature to extinction by 2006.

Northern White Rhinoceros

Imagine being one of the last of your kind, watched over by armed guards as the world mourns your inevitable loss. That’s the reality for the last two northern white rhinos, both females. Years of poaching and habitat destruction have pushed this subspecies to the brink, with only artificial breeding programs as a faint hope for their survival.

Spix’s Macaw

This strikingly blue parrot, native to Brazil, disappeared from the wild in 2000. Its decline was driven by habitat destruction, particularly the clearing of forests for agriculture and illegal trapping for the pet trade. While captive breeding programs have preserved a small population, the species’ natural habitat continues to shrink, which has further made it difficult to reintroduce them in the wild.

Thylacine

Often called the Tasmanian tiger, the thylacine was a predator unlike any other, having both the traits of a dog and a big cat. Its decline was fueled by myths labeling it as a livestock killer, which led to bounties that wiped out the population. The last known thylacine died in captivity in 1936, but sightings still spark debates over whether the species could have survived in hiding.

Passenger Pigeon

It’s hard to imagine that a bird numbering in the billions could vanish entirely. Yet, the passenger pigeon, once a spectacle in North American skies, met that exact fate. Relentless hunting and deforestation drove its decline, with Martha, the last known bird, dying in a Cincinnati zoo in 1914.

Quagga

Part zebra, part horse in appearance, the quagga was an enigmatic subspecies with stripes on its front half and solid coloring on the back. Its unique appearance made it a target for hunters, and by the late 1800s, it was gone. Modern genetic efforts aim to recreate the quagga by selectively breeding zebras.

Pyrenean Ibex

The Pyrenean ibex holds a bittersweet place in history as the first species to be resurrected—albeit briefly. Scientists cloned one in 2003, but the kid died within minutes of birth.  This wild goat was native to the Pyrenees and succumbed to overhunting and habitat loss.

Golden Toad

The golden toad shone like a drop of liquid gold in Costa Rica’s cloud forests. First discovered in the 1960s, it vanished within two decades, likely due to a combination of factors, including habitat loss, climate change, and a fungal disease that has devastated amphibian populations worldwide.

Zanzibar Leopard

The Zanzibar leopard was as elusive as it was misunderstood. Local myths painted it as a malevolent creature, and it was seen as a witch’s familiar. Being a threat to livestock and people didn’t help either, and the animal was aggressively hunted to extinction by the 1990s. Having said that, occasional unconfirmed sightings of this animal suggest the possibility of a hidden population.

Po'ouli

Discovered in the 1970s on Maui, the Po’ouli was a Hawaiian honeycreeper with a unique diet that included native tree snails. Habitat destruction, invasive species, and diseases introduced by mosquitoes decimated its numbers. Conservationists captured the last individuals in an unsuccessful breeding attempt, and by 2004, the species was declared extinct.

Carolina Parakeet

Bright and social, the Carolina parakeet was the only parrot species native to the United States. Once common across the eastern and midwestern states, it fell victim to deforestation and hunting, both for its vibrant feathers and due to its perceived threat to crops. The last confirmed sighting was in 1918.

West African Black Rhino

The West African black rhino is a textbook example of how human greed can wipe out a species. For centuries, the rhino coexisted with its environment, but the 20th century brought devastating challenges. Its horn was greatly valued in traditional medicine, and poachers drove it to extinction. By 2011, it was officially declared extinct.

Tecopa Pupfish

The Tecopa pupfish was a tiny, unassuming species uniquely adapted to the extreme environment of California’s Mojave Desert. It thrived in the warm, mineral-rich waters of the region’s natural hot springs and had survived in isolation for thousands of years, right until those waters were altered for human use as hot springs. Its extinction in the 1980s shows how even minor changes to an ecosystem can have catastrophic consequences for its inhabitants.

Javan Tiger

The Javan tiger, once an apex predator of the dense forests of Java, Indonesia, was among the smaller tiger subspecies but no less formidable. Its decline began with the rapid deforestation of its jungle habitat, driven by agricultural expansion and human settlement during the mid-20th century. By the 1970s, the species was declared extinct, though occasional reports of sightings have kept its memory alive.

Round Island Burrowing Boa

The Round Island burrowing boa was a remarkable snake, native only to Round Island near Mauritius. Unlike most snakes, it lived almost entirely underground, burrowing through soil and feeding on small prey, which also made it particularly vulnerable to environmental changes, like invasive species and habitat destruction. By the 1970s, sightings ceased entirely, and it was declared extinct.

Pinta Island Tortoise

“Lonesome George” became the face of extinction when he died in 2012. This Pinta Island Tortoise was a global symbol of conservation efforts, but decades of attempts to breed him proved unsuccessful. The subspecies was native to Ecuador's Galápagos Islands, was already on the brink of extinction when George was discovered in 1971.

Dutch Alcon Blue Butterfly

This delicate butterfly once fluttered across the meadows of the Netherlands. Its larvae depended on a single plant species for food, and later, on a specific ant species to complete its life cycle. Agricultural development and urbanization disrupted these critical relationships and led to the butterfly’s extinction.

Schomburgk’s Deer

Schomburgk’s deer was a graceful species native to the floodplains of central Thailand. Its antlers, which formed intricate, lyre-like shapes, made it a target for hunters. By the early 20th century, overhunting and habitat loss had pushed the species to extinction. A set of antlers, discovered in a Laotian monastery in the 1990s, serves as one of the last tangible reminders of this lost species.

Mountain Mist Frog

The mountain mist frog, native to the rainforests of Queensland, Australia, was a small but vital part of its ecosystem. Living in cool mountain streams, it thrived in the damp, shaded environments of the region. However, the amphibian chytrid fungus, a deadly pathogen, swept through its habitat in the 1990s.

Chinese Paddlefish

The Chinese paddlefish was a giant of the Yangtze River, capable of growing up to 23 feet long. Its sharp decline began in the 20th century, as industrialization transformed the Yangtze. Overfishing decimated its numbers, while the construction of large dams, such as the Gezhouba Dam in the 1980s, fragmented its habitat.