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Coloring Book of Extinct Animals by Lance Willoughby

Passenger Pigeon

Coloring Book of Extinct Animals by Lance Willoughby

Introduction This coloring book is no means to be a complete encyclopedia or in these days Wikepedia of extinct animals Actually this book barley scratches the surface of the topic Here is what you will not find in this book dinosaurs or prehistoric animals such as the sabretooth tiger or the woolly mammoth That can be for another coloring book I specifically wanted to focus on more recent animals that have vanished in the last 500 years The research for the information in this book was very extensive Although it was very fascinating to read the details of each animal it was rather saddening learning how they went extinct and what was more saddening was how it could have been avoided I hope you enjoy this book not only for coloring but the information given to encourage you to do further research Lance Willoughby

Great Auk

The great auk was a flightless bird that lived in the North Atlantic in an area that ranged from the coasts of Canada Greenland and Iceland and as far south of Spain They stood 30 to 33 inches tall and weighed around 11 pounds Their coloring is similar to that of a penguin with black around the back and a white front They were clumsy on land but agile in the water In native American cultures they were a food source and used in their symbols Their down became a high demand in Europe and began to quickly become extinct in those regions that they were populated As Europeans began to explore and settle in the Americas hunting continued Scientist began to realize that their numbers was decreasing The last known one was killed on July 3rd 1844

Atlas Bear

The atlas bear was Africa s only native bear species in modern times that once lived in the Atlas Mountains that ranged from Morocco to Libya They were brownish black in color and the under parts were a reddish orange The muzzle was shorter than that on the American Black Bear They were thought to be 9ft in length and weighed about 1 000 lbs It fed mainly on roots and was thought to be a herbivore The beginning of their decline can be traced back to the days of the Roman Empire being captured in the gladiatorial games When modern fire arms were developed over hunting continued their decline The last one on record was killed by a hunter in 1870

Pyranese Ibex

The Pyranose Ibex was once common living in the Catibrian Mountains in the north of Spain They are one of four species of Spanish Ibex and the second to become extinct Due to over hunting and completion to domestic livestock they began to decrease in the 19th and 20th century where only a small population remained in the Orden National Park The last on was found dead on January 6 2000 killed by a fallen tree

Heath Hen

The heath hen is a North American bird in the house family that ranged from New Hampshire to Virginia At one time they were common and were hunted for food by early European settlers Their description is similar to that of the prairie chicken with their length at 17 inches and weight about 2 pounds Intense hunting reduced their population and they had disappeared from the mainland and an estimation of 300 were left on Martha s Vineyard of the cost of Massachusetts Their numbers continued to to decline due to poaching and feral cats By the late 1800 s only about 70 were remaining A hunting ban was placed and their numbers grew to about 2 000 in in the mid 1910 s However with the combination of a fire in their reserve as well as an outbreak of blackhead transmitted disease and predators their numbers began to decline again By 1927 a small number were only remaining and all were males After December 8 1928 only one was remaining and was given the name Booming Ben His last confirmed sighting was on March 11 1932 during breeding season

Golden Toad

Also called the Alajude toad or orange toad the golden toad was once abundant in a region north of the city Monteverda Costa Rica It was first cataloged in 1966 Males were a bright orange but the female was colored with a band that was black yellow red green and white The last toad died on May 15 1989 Although completely unknown to why it went extinct habitat destruction and climate change are the given reasons

Honshou Wolf

The Honshu wolf was a subspecies of wolf that lived on the Japanese islands of Honshu Shikabu and Kyushu It was slightly smaller than the gray wolf standing 56 58 cm high It is either described of being greyish brown or yellow speckled with an ash colored white tipped tail It was often referred in Japanese folklore as a protector for travelers and crops as well as associated with the Shinto mountain spirit Yama no Kani 20 shrines alone on Honshu are dedicated to the Honshu wolf It s first record appeared in 713 In 1701 a lord introduced the first bounty on the wolf In 1736 an outbreak of rabies spread in Japan and reached the wolf population which lead to organized hunts and killing them became a national policy In 1905 the last species was killed

Tecopa Pupfish

This extinct subspecies of the amargosa pupfish went extinct in the 1970 due to habitat modifications construction of bath houses in the 1950 s and 60 s that used springs that homed the pupfish such as and introduction to non native species Along with the destruction of their springs that homed them the began to hybridize with the amargose pupfish They were about 1 to 1 5 inches in length and capable of surviving in temperatures of 1100 F Males displayed a bright blue while females were blue with 6 to 10 vernal stripes The last confirmed sighting was on February 2nd 1970

Passenger Pigeon

The passenger pigeon was a native species of pigeon that lived in North America The passenger pigeon received it s name got it s name from it s migrating habits The male was 15 4 to 16 1 inches in length It was mainly gray in the upper parts and lightened on the under parts with bronze feathers on the neck and black spots on its wings The female was slightly smaller and the color was not as bright At one time it flew in enormous flocks that numbered 3 to 5 billion They had been a food source for Native Americans but it was the commercial hunting over a number of decades and deforestation of it s habitat that had an impact on it s numbers As many as 50 000 was killed in a day The last one confirmed shot was in 1901 Last one died in the Cincinnati Zoo on September 1 1914

Round Island Burrowing Boa

This extinct species of boa was exclusive to the island of Maturities It reached about a length of 3 feet It s color is described of being light brown with black spots and pink marbles Soil erosion is blamed for it s extinction It had already become rare by 1949 The last known species was seen in 1975

Steller s Sea Cow

Steller s is an extinct species of sirenian that is related to the still living dugong and manatee It was discovered in 1741 around the Commander Island in the Bering Strait It reached 8 11 tons with lengths up to 30ft Named after the naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller who is credited for the discovery of the species However within 27 years of it s discovery by Europeans the animal was hunted to extinction by 1768 It was brownish black in color with white patches It spent most of its time feeding on sea grass and other vegetation

Japanese Sealion

The Japanese sea lion was thought to be a subspecies of the California sea lion but later considered a separate species They inhabited the coastal areas of Japan and Korea Males were dark gray and weighed about 450 to 560 kg with a length about 2 3 to 2 5 feet long making them a little larger than the California sea lion They were typically hunted for oil to use in oil lamps By 1915 only about 300 sea lions were alive The last confirmed sighting was made in 1974 Some unconfirmed sightings were made in the mid 1980 s

Ivory Billed Woodpecker

The ivory billed woodpecker was one of the largest woodpeckers in the world that lived in the southeastern United States with a subspecies in Cuba and related to the possibly extinct imperial woodpecker It usually grew to about 19 to 20 inches long with a wing span of about 30 inches and weighing around 99 to 1 26 pounds The have blue black feathers with white markups on its neck There is a crest that extrudes from the back of the head On the male the crest is red and on females it is black There numbers began to decline due to logging and hunting It has not been photographed since the 1930 s By 1938 there were an estimated 20 living in the wild In 1944 the last known ivory billed woodpecker died Over the years however there have been some unconfirmed sighting as late a January of 2017 There is a 10 000 and 50 000 reward for information for a living species

Javan Tiger

The Javan tiger is an extinct subspecies of tiger that lived on the Indonesian island of Java until the 1970 s The tiger was much smaller than the Asian mainland tigers but appearance was the same being orange with black stripes Habitat loss due to farming began to have an impact on the tigers extinction With the combination of deforestation it s prey being poisoned and tiger hunts Some unconfirmed sightings have been reported in 2008 and 2010

Sea Mink

The sea mink was a large mink that lived on the coasts of New England and Canada They were slightly larger than the American Mink being 32 5 inches long with brown reddish fur They were hunted to extinction between 1860 and 1870 due to the European fur market and due to their size they favored over the American mink

Bubal Hartbeast

The bubal hartbeast was also know as the bubal antelope They lived in the northern part of the Saharan desert ranging from Morocco to Egypt They has a sandy color with patches of dark gray on either side of their muzzle They measured 43 inches at the shoulder and roamed in herds of up to 200 in numbers With the French conquest of Algeria herds would be massacred by the colonial militia By 1917 only 15 were remaining The last one was shot in Morocco in 1925

Yunan River Newt

The Yunan River Newt was only found near the Humming Lake in Yunnan China It has not been seen since 1979 Habitual loss population and introduced non native species is blamed for it s extinction Similar to that of the fire belly salamander it is dark brown with it s underbelly being a bright orange

Baiji River Dolphin

This fresh water river dolphin was found only in the Yantzee River in China It was regarded as the goddess of protection by the local population Mature males reached about 7 feet 7 inches in length while females were around 8 feet They were pale blue on the docile and white on the ventral When China became more industrialized the population dwindled Fishing nets and electric fishing also added to their extinction The last confirmed sighting was made in 2004

Quagga

The quagga was a subspecies of zebra that lived in South Africa It was about 8 5 feet long and around 4 5 feet tall It s color pattern differed from the zebra Whereas the zebra is black and white stripped the quagga was brown with white stripes toward the front and black toward the back When Dutch settler began to arrive the quagga was hunted for some part for it s hide but mostly to make room for the domesticated animals that arrived with the settlers The quagga went extinct in the wild in 1878 and the last one in captivity in the Amsterdam Zoo in 1883 The Quagga Project which was started in 1987 was to create a quagga like zebra with selective breading By 2006 third and fourth generation were being produced and released in the wild

Guam Flying Fox

Also known as the Little Moraines Fruit Bat was a small megabat that lived on the Moraines Islands of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean It s body length was about 6 inches in length with a wingspan of 28 inches and weighed about 54 oz It s appearance was similar to that of the Chuick Flying Fox the top of the head was grayish The back of the throat and under parts were brown and the side of the neck was a golden brown Like all fruit bats it more than likely fed on fruit and flowers First recorded in 1931 no confirmed sighting has been made since the 1970 s The last species was found in March of 1967 When it was plentiful it was hunted for food Habitat loss and the introduction of the brown tree snake contributed to it s extinction

Pinta Island Tortoise

The Pinta Island tortoise was a large tortoise that lived on Pinta Island in the Galopulas They grew to weigh as much as 400 pounds and be 6ft in length 5ft tall It was first described in 1877 By the end of the 19th century most have been killed due to hunting By the mid 20th century it was thought that they had become extinct until a single male was found in 1971 that would be named Lonesome George He died on June 24 2012

Thylacine

Also known as the Tasmanian Tiger or Tasmanian Wolf it was the largest carnivorous marsupial in modern times at one time living on the Australian mainland as well as New Guinea It s closest living relative is the Tasmanian Devil and the numkit It s description was a k 9 like appearance with light yellow fur with black strips It was about 39 to 51 inches long plus a tail 20 to 26 inches Like all marsupials it carried it s young in a pouch The thylacine went extinct in the Australian mainland due to the arrival of humans who brought the dingo with them The thylacine remained the top predator on the island of Tasmania until the arrival of European settlers needing land for farming and grazing The government began to place bounties on the thylacine and between 1888 and 1909 more than 2 000 bounties were collected In 1930 the last known thylacine was killed in the wild On September 6 1936 Benjamin the last known thylacine died in Hobart Zoo Over the years there are unconfirmed sighting to indicate that they still may be alive

West African Black Rhinoceros

This subspecies of black rhino was once widespread in the savannah sub sarah Africa It measured 9 8 to 12 3 feet long with a height of 4 6 to 5 9 feet tall It weighed anywhere from 1760 3090 lbs It has 2 horns One measured 1 6 to 4 6 feet long and the second was 79 to 21 65 inches long Heavy poaching due to the belief that it s horn held medicinal values With protection it s population had risen during the 1930 s Between 1990 and 1992 farmers began killing them to defend their crops and trophy hunters their numbers began to quickly drop again The last know sighting was in 2006 In 2011 it was declared extinct

Dodo Bird

The dodo bird has become the symbol of extinct animals It was a large flightless bird related to the pigeon that populated the island of Mautrius that is located in the Indian Ocean It stood about 3ft 3in tall and weighed around 23 27 lbs The The description of their appearance comes to us from accounts and drawings from the 17th century It was thought to have been grayish brown plumage with light primary feathers and curly feathers at the rear Its head was naked and beak colored green black and yellow Its legs were yellow with black claws The first recorded encounter was by Dutch sailors in 1598 The dodo bird was already a rare species since it exclusively lived on Mautruis Since it had no natural predators it was not fearful of humans Their extinction is due to over hunting and the introduction of nonnative species that also hunted them or contributed to destroying their habitat Last known sighting was in 1662

Golden Toad

Coloring Book of Extinct Animals 22 extinct animals are presented in this coloring book as a 2 page spread with a brief bio on each Inside you will find the once numerous passenger pigeon of North America the secluded golden toad of Central America and the iconic dodo bird Unfortunately with the vanishing of these animals many other are close to following the same suite