Extinctions Today

Although extinction is a natural process, human activity has rapidly increased the rate of extinction. Here are just a few organisms that have been affected.

The quagga was a close relative of zebras, and like zebras, it lived in Africa. By the 1870s, many had been killed off by humans for their hides. The last quaggas died in zoos in the 1880s.

In the early 1800s, the passenger pigeon was the most common bird in America. It seemed that nothing could wipe out such a common species. But hunting, habitat destruction, and extermination drove the passenger pigeon to extinction. By the 1900s, no passenger pigeons were left in the wild. The last one, a female named "Martha," died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

The golden lion tamarin is native to a small part of the Brazilian rain forest. Much of its habitat has been destroyed by deforestation, causing the numbers of tamarins to drop so low that extinction is likely. Captive breeding programs in zoos have been established in an attempt to save the golden lion tamarin from extinction.

Golden lion tamarin © Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, www.rarespecies.org; Quagga and passenger pigeon illustrations are in the public domain.