Sad but true...Recently Extinct Animals

This is not about dinosaurs or woolly mammoths. The moment of extinction is the death of the last individual of that species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point, indicating that there is no ability to survive the current generation. Given that perspective, this list presents 10 animals that have or likely will become extinct in the 21^st century. 

10. Kihansi Spray Toad

The Kihansi spray toad, which still survives in a number of zoos in the United States, had lived on just two hectares along the Kihansi gorge in Tanzania. The toad was specially adapted to the spray region of the Kihansi waterfall, which kept its small environment at a constant temperature and humidity. The construction of a dam in the area upset the flow of the waterfall and devastated the species. Several attempts were made to save the toad, including a sprinkler system set up to mimic the natural spray of the water that had been diverted for the dam, however the species continued to decline. As the problem was recognized 500 individuals of the Kihansi spray toad were taken to American zoos to start a breeding program and as of 2007 the breeding program had 460 individual frogs.

9. Pere David Deer

Over hunting drove the milu to near-extinction for the first time around A.D. 200. For centuries after that, the deer lived only within the walls of Imperial Hunting Park, near modern Beijing, where only China’s emperor was allowed to hunt. A flood in 1894 wiped out all but 20 to 30 of the animals. The rest were shot and eaten during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, eliminating the population in the wild. However, A few decades earlier, a French missionary named Armand David brought several animals to Europe, where they earned their Western name, Père David’s deer. The last 18 deer eventually made their way to the estate of England’s Duke of Bedford, where they were bred until, in1985, the first animals were returned to China. The worldwide population, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’s Red List of Threatened Species, today stands at over 2,000.

8. Slender Billed Vulture

They may not have the beauty of a peacock or voice of a Cuckoo, but vultures play a vital ecological role in the food chain by feeding on dead animals which would otherwise spread disease and contaminate the surroundings. The Slender-billed Vulture was once a common species, but in Southeast Asia it declined through the first half of the 20th century to the point where it is listed as Critically Endangered. The species is now thought to be extinct in Thailand and Malaysia, and the only recent Southeast Asian records are from Cambodia, southern Laos and Myanmar. By mid-2000, Gyps vultures were being found dead and dying in Nepal and India, and major declines and local extirpations were reported. There is strong evidence that Gyps vultures are fatally susceptible to veterinary painkillers containing Diclofenac. East of India, the near-total disappearance of the species pre-dated the present crisis, and probably results from human consumption of deceased livestock.

7. Javan Tiger

The Javan tiger was limited to the island of Java. It now seems likely that this subspecies became exctinct in the 1980′s, as a result of hunting and habitat destruction, but the extinction of this subspecies was extremely probable from the 1950s onwards (when it is thought that fewer than 25 tigers remained in the wild). The last specimen was sighted in 1979, but there was a re-ignition of reported sightings during the 1990s.

6. Pachnodus velutinus

Pachnodus velutinus was a terrestrial snail from Mahé Island in the Seychelles. The species is now Extinct. This snail once inhabited high forests, requiring constant humidity levels of at least 90%. By the early 1990s, it was restricted to the dampest area of moss forests on the island. Being highly vulnerable to desiccation, habitat degradation and climatic changes were the main threats that caused the snail’s range and population size to shrink.

5. Baiji

During a 6-week intensive expedition in Wuhan, China in 2006 scientists from six nations desperately searched the Yangtze in vain. The scientists travelled on two research vessels for 3500 kilometers from Yichang near the Three Gorges Dam to Shanghai into the Yangtze Delta and back, using high-performance optical instruments and underwater microphones. The did not see any examples of the freshwater dolphin, nicknamed in China as the “goddess of the Yangtze”. The 20 million year old river dolphin was one of the world’s oldest species.

The last documented sighting of the species was in 2002 The species had been listed as Critically Endangered since 1996, but in 2007 it was flagged as Possibly Extinct. Entanglement in fishing gear, electric fishing practices, boat propeller strikes, dam construction, river siltation (from deforestation and agricultural expansion), and pollution have all contributed to the dramatic declines of this species. Further survey work is essential to confirm whether this species still exists or if it is indeed now extinct.

4. Angel Shark

The Angel Shark was uplisted from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered in 2006. This large angel shark formerly was a common and important demersal predator in coastal and outer continental shelf sediment habitat in the Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Seas. Most of this region is now subject to intense demersal fisheries, and the species is highly vulnerable to bycatch in benthic trawls, set nets and bottom longlines that now operate through most of its range. Its abundance has declined dramatically during the past 50 years. It has been declared extinct in the North Sea and has apparently been extirpated from large areas of the northern Mediterranean. It is now extremely uncommon throughout most its remaining range.

3. Caspian Tiger

Caspian Tigers lived in China, Tajikistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and the Central Asiatic area of Russia.  They were hunted for their furs and to protect livestock.  A ban on hunting the Caspian Tiger in the USSR in 1947 followed their greatest destruction in the 1930s.  The last Caspian Tiger reported shot was in 1957. Three tiger subspecies are considered to have become extinct in the past 70 years, the Bali, Caspian and Javan tigers.

2. Bubal Hartebeest

The Bubal Hartebeest was a magnificent, tough beast which was once domesticated by the ancient Egyptians as a food source and for sacrificial purposes. The creature was even mentioned in the Old Testament. Although it once roamed throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East, the deep-rooted mythology which surrounded the animal was not enough to save it from European hunters who began hunting them for recreation and meat. The last Bubal Hartebeest was probably a female which died in the Paris Zoo in 1923.

1. Pyrenean Ibex

The Pyrenean Ibex has one of the more interesting stories among extinct animals, since it was the first species to ever be brought back into existence via cloning, only to go extinct again just seven minutes after being born due to lung failure in January 2009. The last naturally born Pyrenean Ibex died on January 6th, 2000, after being found dead under a fallen tree at the age of 13. That animal’s only companion had died just a year earlier due to old age. Although the recent effort to resurrect the Ibex was short-lived, the event does raise serious debate about whether extinct creatures should be given a second chance. 

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Top 5 Regrets Of The Dying...

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard. 

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. 

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

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The Lesser Known Branches of Forensic Science (knowledge, police, CSI, Miami, task, force)

Forensics have certainly come a long way. It all began as merely identifying fingerprints visible to the naked eye (back in ole BC), but has evolved into an essential crime-fighting giant with tens of subdivisions and even entire schools dedicated to those pursuing a job in forensic science. Forensic science can do fancy science tricks akin to those previously only seen in sci-fi movies. The future is now! Crimes can be solved just by examining insects or plant life at the scene, microscopic marks on a bullet can be examined to discover details about a murder, and even astronomy can be used to decipher previously unknown details about classic works of art. Here are six of the weirdest branches of forensic science that will blow your mind — and your chances of committing the perfect crime.

6. Forensic Botany

A forensic botanist knows that there is such thing as a gruesome plant. Forensic science developed forensic botany to cleverly research the nature of a crime using the plants found on or around the victim’s body. If the body lies in the park but contains plant matter only found across town by the river, forensic botanists can conclude that the body has been moved. According to Contact Traces (Marriner, 1991), a criminal always takes or leaves something from the scene of the crime — and they aren’t the only ones with fingerprints. Plants have ‘fingerprints’ as well, and trace evidence of those fingerprints can sometimes link a criminal to the victim. The first instance of forensic botany to be used in trial was during the infamous Lindbergh trial, when the discovery of a piece of wood in the criminal’s attic was examined. The wood grain exactly matched that of a ladder at the scene of the crime. Forensic science even utilized botany in the recent Casey Anthony; forensic botanist Jane Bock testified that Caylee Anthony’s, grown through with roots and leaves, could have been sitting in the woods for as little as two weeks — significantly less than prosecutors had believed. Unfortunately, Casey Anthony went free despite obviously having a hand in her child’s death. Forensic science can’t solve everything.

5. Forensic Entomology

Wasps, ants and bees, oh my! Forensic entomology is the study of insects and bugs in criminal cases. Although typically used to study death, it can also be used to detect drugs or decipher the exact time wounds were sustained. One of the most common cases in entomology (as frequently seen on forensic science show Forensic Files) is examining maggots on a body and determining the time of death based on those maggots — scientists know how long it takes for a maggot to complete each life stage, so the current state of the maggots is studied. Blow flies, cheese flies, house flies, and the grossly named flesh flies all behave and reproduce differently from one another. The same goes for the many species of beetles, moths, mites, bees, and ants. That’s a lot of potential evidence, especially since bugs and insects are virtually everywhere. Forensic scientists had to find ways of gathering additional research on forensic entomology without losing time by only studying current criminal cases. As a solution, pig carcasses were studied in various environments because of their similarities to the human body. Forensic entomology is even popular in films, such as in the moth pupa autopsy scene from Silence of the Lambs. Going back to the Casey Anthony trial, an entomologist was called in to testify about the presence of ‘late colonizers’ in Anthony’s trunk, or insects which are only present in a decomposing body after it’s been dead three to four days.

4. Forensic Meteorology

This one sounds way cooler than it actually is. Forensic science’s branch of meteorology utilizes witness accounts, weather reports, and satellite images to determine the weather conditions at the time/scene of a crime. The most frequent usages for forensic meteorology are in murder or insurance fraud investigations.

 

3. Forensic Geophysics

Fred West was a cruel British serial killer who, along with the help of his equally demented wife, murdered as many as 13 young girls. The recovery of multiple bodies buried on his property was sparked after he filmed himself raping two of his own daughters, and the girls told people at school who consequently told the police. Once West began confessing, a technique called forensic geophysics was utilized to uncover the bodies and prosecute West for as many crimes as possible. The forensic geophysics branch of forensic science uses Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to send electromagnetic waves into the ground, which bounce back with a length dependent upon what objects are beneath the ground’s surface. Initially invented as a mine detector, GPR was a huge advance in the 90s, but definitely had its flaws. Looking for a small object (such as a shoebox) was nearly impossible, as GPR works better when detecting bulkier objects.

2. Forensic Astronomy

Another relatively mild field of forensic science is forensic astronomy, which studies celestial objects to decipher past celestial constellations. In turn, these constellations can be compared to the past to figure out details about historical events or classic works of art. Forensic astronomy is not often used in trial, but one example of its usefulness in solving crimes can be in photography. Two pictures taken at the same event of the same person can be studied by looking at the shadows within the pictures. The difference between the shadows and the time of day can tell forensic astronomers much about the photograph.

1. Forensic Limnology

Similar to forensic botany and entomology, the forensic science of limnology utilizes the environment around a crime scene to discover clues. Specifically, limnology studies freshwater sources around the crime scene, and is particularly useful in drowning cases. A drowning victim may decompose significantly in only a short period of time if he or she is immersed in water after death, which can significantly decrease the amount of evidence found in or on the victim’s body. Limnology studies diatoms, or algae, to discover whether the person died from drowning or not. A drowning victim will retain diatoms within the lungs and all throughout other internal organs as well, having inhaled water before death. Limnology can also help locate where and when the person was killed, both using the freshwater flora inside the body and studying the development of that flora.

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24-2-2012, Auckland City