ExtinctZoo - These Giants Were Alive Just 300 Years Ago

Episode Date: April 25, 2026

Earth used to be packed with giants, and somehow, in just the last few centuries, humans still managed to delete a shocking number of them.

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free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming, Ontario. Although in many ways this is not true, it can seem like life on Earth today is relatively tame, or even boring, you could say, at least compare to prehistoric times. And I do see how it could feel like this, especially when you compare the present animals to life during any of the past ages, such as the age of dinosaurs, or even much more recently, such as 26,000 years ago during the last glacial maximum. And the reason being is that, in both of these times, it seems as if every other animal was a giant.

And this isn't something we're imagining. Earth today does really have far less megafaunal animals than it used to. And a big part of this has to do with the late Pleistocene Extinctions, an event that loosely started about 50,000 years ago, but really ramped up around 11,700 years ago, leading to the world losing 65% of its megafaunal animals, including the likes of the mammoth, cave lion, Willy rhinoceros, and many, many more.

And ever since then, large animals have become far less frequent and usually only found in certain areas, like the Serengeti. However, what you may not know is that since the end of this extinction event, we have continued to lose large animals. In fact, just in the last 300 years alone, we have potentially lost over a dozen, all of which were amazing, and in a handful of cases, unlike anything we have left. A somber reminder that even in a few centuries, the earth can lose a lot of its magic. When I say large or megafaunal animal, I'm not talking about no rabbit. Rather, the common threshold that is used to define a megafauna is typically anything over 45 kilos or 100. pounds. So I'm sorry at all my thalacine lovers, but the Tasmanian tiger does not count,

nor does the dodo or the Japanese wolf, and any other creature that doesn't pass the way in. And for the sake of time, I will only be talking about full species, not subspecies, so I'm sorry, my sweet, sweet quagga, you must wait. And so, with these stringent weight limits, you might think that only a few large species have been lost in recent times. Yet, this cannot be farther from the truth, because as mentioned, in the last 300 years, we have lost quite a few, over 10 large animals at the very least, all of which were heavier than 45 kilos or 100 pounds, and in some cases far heavier than even that. And sadly, these Lost 13 were quite a diverse and exotic bunch,

making their extinctions just that much more noticeable. Yet, there is one group that has clearly suffered more than the rest, and that would be tortoises. Now, most people don't think at tortoises as being large, but if you saw my Himalaya video, you would know that historically, some of them can be quite the whopper. And even now, you can find several large species of large land tortoises, Fiddley dubbed the giant tortoises, which are usually found on islands, courtesy of insured gigantism,

and in some cases can weigh close to 1,000 pounds or 453 kilos, which is, for perspective, heavier than your average grizzly bear. Sadly, many of these living gentle giants are now, like their fallen brethren, experiencing great threats, putting me at risk of joining their recently lost tortoises, the number of five in the last 300 years alone. And so, this accounts for over 38% of every lost megafauna since the 1700s, and includes the saddleback, Rodriguez, and Mauritius giant tortoises, as well as the domed Mauritius and Rodriguez species, plus the reunion giant tortoise. All five of these lost giants were the same in the sense that they were all primarily herbivorous tortoises, who inhabited various islands, and in fact all lived within the realm of the Indian Ocean.

In fact, all but the reunion kind coexisted with one other species, and it's believed that all five descended from the same knots-so-removed ancestor. And as you can obviously guess, each was over 100 pounds, but we do know that their weights did differ. We just aren't sure by how much due to limited remains. Yet it is believed they are close in size to the still extant species, but to one area where they did differ was their overall appearance, as each had unique shells and necks, with the saddle-backed Rodriguez giant tortoise being by far the most exotic appearing, having a shell that tightly gripped its body,

and an extremely long neck used to graze taller plants, giving its an almost prehistoric and primitive look, which must have shot people when it was first discovered. Which, speaking of people, the first who have seen them, would have been Arabic and Portuguese sailors. But it wasn't until the French and Dutch colonize these islands around the 17th century that we see these tortoises pop up inofficial written records. And all five of them fell into the fatal trap of extinct island animals, which is that they were noted for being quite docile, friendly, and not scared of humans, having, of course, never really seen them before or evolved with similar species. And, uh, this proved terrible for them, as their large sizes and slow speeds made them easy pickings for starving sailors.

And across the islands, the slaughter soon started up, which was only exacerbated once permanent settlements were established, with the animals being used for fat and oil on top of just for food. And you might think that people would be hesitant to eat these guys, given their somewhat odd appearances, but it's actually been quite well documented that giant tortoises had surprisingly tasty flesh and eggs, and were quite easy to digest, unfortunately for them. And to make matters even worse, these tortoises were known to congregate into large hurts at various stages in the day, which only led to more death. And the hunting alone absolutely devastated their numbers and population growth. But what really broke the camel's back, or rather the tortoises shell, was when invasive animals were introduced. Pigs, dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, and more were all brought to these islands, causing immense damage not just through predation, but also the destruction of their habitat, whilst hundreds of thousands more were literally loaded onto ships for food during sea voyages.

And so, with such pressure, it unsurprisingly didn't take too long for these guys to, start dropping like flies, or again, like tortoises. And by the 18th century, all five were already on the verge of extinction, and by the early 19th century, they were either extinct or limited to remote areas of their respective homes, with the higher grounds in the islands usually being the common refuge. Yet even there, invasive animals are thought to have found them, and the controlled fires on these islands meant to clear up the forests, certainly did not help. And while it's hard to say which of the five species lasted the longest, as far as reports go, in the last sighting of an Indian Ocean giant tortoise, besides the living, Aldabra species, was in 1844 on Round Island,

just north in Mauritius, where several large specimens were found alive. However, that island was already overrun by rabbits, and no, I'm not joking. And by the time someone heard about the report and cared enough to check back on the tortoises, over 20 years had already passed, and by that time they were long gone, marking what many considered to be a certain extinction. And really, the age of sail, a period when sailing ships dominated history and exploration was booming, was a travesty for many large animals, including those even across the ocean, as seen by our unfortunate ex-victum, the Caribbean monk seal. This creature actually has a pretty profound start in written history, as its first recorded appearance was on the second voyage of Christopher Columbus

himself. In 1494, his ship made anchor off the coast of the Barren Altavalo Island, where a search party quickly discovered a group of these seals among the beach. They were noted for having fairly large, long, and sturdy bodies, with some of the individuals measuring up the 2.4 meters or eight feet long. And uniquely, like other monk seals, they had algae which grew upon their pelages, giving them a slight greenish tinge, while the rest of their body was primarily a mix of brown or gray. And having never seen humans before, at least on this island, they didn't heavily react to the sailor's presence, which was a mistake in their part as this led to the group of sailors killing eight of them, which would then go on to be used to feed the ship and also be studied.

And what was found was that large males could weigh up to 270 kilos or 600 pounds, which means in sailor terms a lot of meat, and thus leading to them becoming a favorite hunting item, over the coming years, as more ships started passing through the island. And over time, certain individuals recorded the seal's behavior, finding them to be largely social animals, sticking to groups between 20 to 100 strong throughout its range, which included atolls and islands with the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Western Atlantic Ocean. In other words, areas of the nice and toasty waters where they fed on fish and crustaceans. And it was also observed that Great White, Tiger sharks, the occasional orca, and even native Caribbean,

would prey on them, but none of them really made a dent on their numbers. The newcomers, though, that was a very different story. And it wasn't necessarily that people hunted them for food, but rather over time, as the Caribbean were further colonized, the monk seal started to be used as a commodity, with hundreds being killed every day to be used at lubrication for plantation machinery, while then hundreds more died to fuel lamps. And these killings really ramped up after the 1500s,

namely going to the late 1600s with more industries and people setting up shop, with the deaths also being exacerbated by much of the coast they lived on, being ravaged by human activity as well. And less than 400 years after its discovery in 1850, it was written that enough Caribbean monks' seals already died that they were no longer commercially viable to hunt. And while this did take some pressure off of them, it wasn't enough, and the damage had already been done.

On top of that, they were still being killed, or captured for research, or sent to zoos. With one expedition alone, notably taking 42 of them, which was a problem in of itself is in captivity these animals rarely lived long. While conversing in nature, they could live to the ripe old age of 20. And so as the years continue to pass, they only got fewer and fewer. And once the clock hit the 1900s, sightings were considered a once-in-a-lifetime situation. And then fast forward a little again, in Texas, the last seal spotted on the coast occurred in 1932,

with the last recorded Monksdale to be killed by a person being in 1939. And then just 13 years later in 1952, the last one to ever be seen alive was spotted off the Serenella Bank. And since then, while sightings have been reported, follow... This episode is brought to you by L'Oreal Group. Beauty is a powerful force that moves us. That's why L'Oreal Group has built a business that is inclusive at its heart with 100% of its brands, championing diversity. With 25,000 professional opportunities for people under 30 worldwide and 54% of leading positions held by women, diversity is a strength that helps L'Oreal Group create the best beauty products for all people.

Visit L'Oreal.com to learn more. I've never revealed their continued existence, with a consensus usually being that these supposed sightings are really just that of hooded seals. And to me, one of the status things about how many of these animals ended up being wiped out is the fact that they were killed simply because humans saw them as nothing more than a resource. I mean again, the monk seal was killed by the hundreds just to fuel lamps and lubricate machinery. Yeah, pretty depressing way to go, being reduced to simply your monetary value. For now, the Caribbean monk seal is the only seal on our list.

But it is not the only pinnipid. As on the other side of the planet in Japan, another loss took place, involving not only, another penipid, but also what used to be Japan's largest animal that can move on land. The Japanese sea lion. Of all the animals named so far, this creature is one of the longest recorded histories, seeing that humans have permanently inhabited Japan as far back as 40,000 years ago. In its glory days, the Japanese sea lion could be found within the western North Pacific and its marginal seas, with hotspots being the coast of the Japanese archipelago and Korean Peninsula. In life, they were a somewhat large kind of sea lion, with the biggest individuals measuring up to

9.2 feet or 2.5 meters long, and in some cases weighing 560 kilos or 1,230 pounds, which, for comparison, the largest native animal in Japan today is the Usuri brown bear, which is found in Okido, and taps that at around 500 kilos or 1,000 pounds. And with its large yet grass-style build and surprisingly sharp teeth designed to pierce and grip, the Japanese sea line was a highly successful fisher that caught large amounts of fish, squid, octopus, and even lamprey. But, needless to say, despite being successful predator, and of imposing size, that did not save it from our grasps, with the hunting of them being definitively recorded,

even far back of the Joment period, which dates as far back as 14,000 BC and all the way up to 300 BC. Yet, at that point, the hunting was sustainable and did not threaten their population. No, the problematic relationship only started around the 18th century when the wonderful invention of oil lamps was introduced to the country. And what do oil lamps need? Well, oil. And what's the perfect place to get oil?

Fatty animals. Yeah. And so the rest is history, with sea lions being hunted for this precious resource. Conversely, hunting for food was surprisingly much rare, namely due to its reported bad taste. And then as Japan's population grew and more demand arrived for certain products, the sea lions soon started to be killed for other reasons, such as their supposed medicinal purposes, as well as for their whiskers and skin, which were used as pipe cleaners and for leather goods. And then, another huge hit to the sea lion population would be the rise of industrial fishing, as fishermen often saw these guys as tough competition, which is,

an ode to their ability. And thus these guys were regarded as not only a commodity, but also a threat their livelihood. And by the time the 1900s rolled in, it's documented that 3,000 of them were harvested in one year alone, which is extremely problematic when you consider the fact they were already getting rarer by this point. And the damage showed quickly, as in 1915, the harvesting numbers drastically fell to 300, down from again 3,000 in the early 1900s. And yet, in typical human hubris, no effort was made to protect them. And thus the killing continued, albeit even if it was slowed down due to the smaller population. And because of this, it was just 15 years afterwards in 1930,

that the number dropped again from 300 to a few dozens. And so at this point, you seriously think that someone would be like, um, hey, this is kind of not good. Maybe we should do something. But no. Harvesting continued for another decade and only seized in the 1940s once the creature was virtually extinct. And while the animal was already doomed,

it certainly did not help that quite quickly afterwards, World War II came into the picture, causing large-scale damage to many of its habitats. And so at that point, it was clear that the Japanese sea lion was simply a dead species walking, or rather swimming. And reports in coming years were only of small groups that were unable to bring the species back from the brink of extinction, with the last confirmed siting being a juvenile that was captured near Reuben Island in 1974. And since then, NADA.

With all current reported sightings, instead being linked to the stellar sea lion, which is, thankfully, a still living animal, in which, fun fact, was named after George Wilhelm Steliele. a German-born naturalist. And I mention him as he was a highly successful explorer that recorded and named animals encountered many times after himself, such as Stellar Sea Eagle, the Stellar Sea Lion, and then also, most notably, the Stellar Sea Cow, another lost giant, and actually the largest animal we lost in the last 300 years by a massive margin. Now, this was not a pinnipid, but it was a marine mammal, being a Cyrenian, more specifically

a dugong, and an absolute giant one at that. Based on dated fossils, it's believed that Stellar Sea cow was a relatively recent animal to evolve, appearing the Pleistocene Epoch in the Bering St. St. St.A.P. As well as around northern parts of Japan, and even along parts of North America's western coast. However, because of glacial cycles that occurred in the last glacial maximum, their range became much more restricted, leading to them only being found in the Bering Sea, which is where they were found by European explorers, who encountered them in 1741. And this discovery was a pretty random stroke of luck for the explorers

and terrible one for the Steller Sea cow, as the boat that Stellar was on, not the cow, the person, became shipwrecked on Bering Island, where if starving and cold, a group managed to stumble upon what must have been a sight for sore eyes, multiple giant dinner plates, or I mean, animals, which were grouped up near the shore. And at this point, you know, the tradition in this case is to, uh, set off and try to kill one of these guys. And they first failed due to their immense size and thick blubber, but the next day they were successful, and stellar noted the meat as being tasty and plentiful, very plentiful, that is, seeing that the sea cows were absolute giants, with Stellar claiming they were between 8 meters

and 30 feet long as adults, while weighing between 8 and 10 tons, possibly more, making them most comparable to a literal elephant, and being one of the largest animals to have lived during the entire Holocene. And the ship's crew ended up being stranded for multiple months, allowing Stellar to make numerous observations on their life, stating that they stuck together in herds, fed upon large amounts of kelp and shallow water, and moved very slowly, making them easy to capture. Furthermore, Stellar noted them for being highly docile and peaceful animals, with relatively small heads, thick skin to prevent injury from rocks and ice, and typically had crater-like depressions, likely caused by parasites which led to a rough texture, and thus

this is why one of its nicknames became the bark animal. When a report to their existence reached Russia, they soon became a sought-after target while sailors made their way toward Alaska, which Russia was colonizing around the time. And the reason being was that the food they supplied was seen as vital, while their fat was then treated as a valuable commodity as well. Thus, they were swiftly killed in large numbers. And this is bad whenever, but it was especially bad in the dollar sea cows case, as prior to meeting Europeans, they had been, quote, unquote, interacting with indigenous North American groups, too, with evidence showing that they hunted these creatures in large numbers as well. It might have actually led to their extinction in a few places already.

And so this, combined with the glacial cycles I mentioned earlier, had resulted in their being as few as 2,000 sea cows left at the time of Stellar found them. And because of this, it was only 27 years after their discovery that they were declared extinct, just like that. Yet, the story doesn't quite end there, as reports of prolonged survival are known of. and one American ethnologist reported that natives to Oatoo Island had seen the sea cows linger on around the area into the 1800s, and were occasionally hunted. What's really interesting, though,

was a report that came over 200 years after its reported extinction in 1963, when the Academy of Scientists of the USSR made a report about a whaling ship whose crew had reportedly seen large marine mammals grazing on seaweed in shallow water, with the animals both fitting the description in size and appearance down to their split lips. So, a strong case that these guys might have lived much longer than first believed. but attempts to track down these guys failed, and any more quote-unquote sightings have only come from vague accounts with no evidence backing it up, and with no further expedition ever yielding results, which is quite a somber sign that the giant size of these guys would surely make them fairly easy to spot. And so for now, they were considered long gone, even if they did stick around for longer than first thought.

Evidently, animals that live in the water, heavily rely on it, or live in places surrounded by it, have been severely impacted in these last 300 years. And while this does have to do with the exploration routes and the appetite of sailors, doing a doozy on them. But that being said, large animals on land have suffered too, including the second largest animal we've lost in this time frame, the cupri, also known as the forest ox, or grey ox. This was, surprise, surprise, a forest-dwelling bovine that lived within Southeast Asia, primarily Cambodia, since the Middle Pleistocene,

and thus has had a longer history with humans than many of the other mentioned animals. For example, in the Cardam Mountains of Cambodia, rock engravings seemingly depicting these animals are known of, while even in Encore Wat, some other carvings are also thought could have been in a cupri. And written historical records describe them as bovines with grassile yet muscular builds, with the adults measuring 2.2 meters or 7.3 feet from nostrils to its behind, while standing in some cases as tall as 1.9 meters or 6.3 feet at the shoulders. Now, although it was a grassout creature, its large stature still rendered it a pretty hefty animal, with the largest individuals weighing up to 900 kilos or 2,000 pounds,

which for comparison makes them similar in weight to the American bison. And just like bison, these guys have some nice horns too, which were actually even more gnarly, with the horns of males growing up to 32 inches in length, or about one meter. So basically three rulers stacked back to back. And these suckers were sharp too, making them absolutely potent weapons.

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They don't move on, they manifest. They're not a demographic group, they're fans. Spotify advertising. You're among fans. And yet, the Cooper was a nervous creature that preferred to flee when approached. They were also relatively hard animals to spot, as they avoided the hotter parts of the day by doing their feeding in the early morning and late afternoon,

creating into dense forests. And so, because of this, and the fact that only 2,000 of them are thought to have existed during the 20th century, not many details are known about the specifics of their lives, and even their diet is a gray zone, no pun intended, with the best guess being that they browsed at various grasses and supplemented it with minerals in the soil. And so like what was seen in the sea cows, the already low population made the Kupri extremely vulnerable to extinction in general, and thus the prime target for humanity. It first started with the introduction of domestic cattle, who with their close genetic makeup,

started spreading various parasites and diseases to the cupri. Next came the trophy hunting, with the cupri's large horns being like giant lollipops for Western hunters. And armed with very fair, long-range weapons, they stood no chance. And finally, there was habitat destruction, with large areas being converted into farmland, rice fields, and more. All of this combined led to a drastic reduction of the cupri's range and already dismal numbers.

But they persisted. Unfortunately for them, though, the timing wasn't that great, as they happened to live in an area that would soon become highly chaotic, with multiple wars popping up. As between the 1940s to 1970s, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Cambodian Civil War, among other various armed conflicts, ravaged the area that the cupri still remained in. And amidst all the wars, the cupri quickly disappeared, with the last confirmed sighting coming from 1969.

Here's the intriguing part, though. It's not actually considered extinct yet, with the current classification being critically endangered and possibly extinct. But with that said, I will say that many believe that Coopery is really gone, especially considering that even though the wars and obviously trophy huntings have stopped, the region is still home to a plethora of threats, with it being estimated that there is 12 million snares alone in the small area they could have remained. And then on top of that, every attempt so far to locate them has yielded no results.

Another last relic in our list also happens to come from Southeast Asia and suffered a similar fate, the Schaumburg's deer. Once endemic to Thailand, this deer had been around since the early days of the Holocene. It was known for having an appearance similar to that of the Barrasinga or swamp deer, and was a medium-sized species that could weigh up to 120 kilos or 265 pounds, and was known for succinctive antlers that were noted to be basket-like, and composed of up to 33 points. They tended to live in swampy plains where long grass, cane, and shrubs were abundant,

well then also usually staying away from dent through vegetation. And because of this, hunters had long been going after these guys, but thankfully not with enough success that they were actually making a dent on their population. And really, it wasn't hunting that actually first threatened this creature, as the real problem first appeared when the country started the commercial production of rice, in the late 19th century, as the creation of paddy fields led to virtually all the grassland and swamp areas in which the deer relied on, being destroyed and transformed, rendering them obviously unlivable to the deer. And so this habitat loss put massive pressure on the species,

and also made them more vulnerable to humans as they began to wander into urban areas, while then also congregating larger numbers that made them easy pickings for hunters. Over time, this led to the animal noticeably dwindling, with things becoming even more dire after modern hunting techniques and weapons were introduced to the region. And then, with all this going on, Mother Nature herself, i.e. rainfall of all things, also turned out to be a foe to the Schaumburg's deer, seeing that when the monsoon would start and areas would flood, it would essentially flush these guys out to waiting hunters, who would then cold them in large numbers. And thus, from the 19th century to the 20th century, these deers were already pushed to the brink of extinction.

But sadly, no help would come for them, as even the last known wild population of these guys are believed to have died out in 1932, after hunters thinned the group out too much. Eventually, only captive deer of this mysterious and poorly understood species was left behind. And their stories might even be more sad than the wild ones. As in captivity, they slowly died alone over the years, until just one remained. A captive individual living in Samu Tsukon within a temple. And you'd think that having one at a temple might keep it a bit more safe from humanity's antics, but the opposite was really the case.

As in 1938, a drunk man entered the temple, and wanting a bit of sadistic fun, promptly proceeded to kill the lone deer, and thus also marking, the last time anyone was, has ever officially seen one. Now, some scientists do consider the animal to still be alive, but just like the last animal, many are not hopeful. And the last evidence of any kind, suggesting that it was still around, happened over 30 years ago when an agronomist took a photo of antlers within a Chinese medical shop, that he claimed it come from a Schaumburg deer that the shop's owner had killed. So, yeah, not much hope here. The loss of any species is incalculable, as the weather extinction, something totally unique is lost. And in the case of the

deer, one thing that arguably was incredibly special, was its unique and amazing antler pattern, where there's sadly now being no more basket antlers. It's something else we have lost, is the thing that almost sounds untrue, and that is blue bucks. And I'm not talking about blue dollars, but rather the animal known as Hippotragus Lusophias, a species of antelope that once lived across the plains of South Africa, namely within the Cape region. But historically, its range was larger than this during late Pleistocene and early Holocene. And we know this, as besides fossil evidence, there is also cave paintings of this animal in regions it wasn't known to during modern times, showing that it used to reach farther south in southern Africa,

and that humans in some capacity had long been aware of its existence. But, in line with the trend of this video, the species has suffered setbacks before modern times, as seed-level changes during the early Holocene are believed to have resulted in a low population prior to 1681, which is when European settlers first mentioned this animal, who noted it for its uniform blueish-gray coat, which in some individuals could be remarkably blue. making them not only a favorite site for people, but also incredibly unique, as blue colorations and mammals is very rare. Explorers in the area also noted it for its smaller size compared to its close kin, like roan and stable antelopes, with the males tapping out at around 150 kilograms or 330 pounds, which I guess is still pretty hefty,

and they also definitely have some hefty horns, too, which are longer than rulers, exceedingly sharp, curved, and consisting of 20 rings. They aren't known to have interacted with humans that much, but in the 17th and 18th centuries, when European settlers came, they quickly came under hunting pressures due to their inability to escape from the newly introduced guns. Now, it's not that they were necessarily targeted for a specific reason, but because there were so few already, and likely in a natural decline, any hunting had an abysmal impact on their populations, and they very quickly went from being rare to nearly non-existent. In fact, after Europeans settled in their region permanently, it only took a couple hundred years until the species disappeared for good, with one researcher claiming that the last blue buck was shot in either 1799 or 1800. This swift execution

made it the first historically recorded species of large African mammal to go extinct, while with the timing which it occurred resulted in researchers knowing very little about the creature, with all information on it essentially of income from historical accounts and illustrations rather than observing live specimens. And based on these accounts, it was said that the blue buck would often form small groups of the 20 individuals that spent both their days grazing, mainly on grasses. And from these accounts, researchers also derive some conclusions about their mating season, and the temporary isolation period, calves were put in before they could join up with a hurt.

Additionally, thanks to preserve specimens and intact DNA, researchers also learned down the road that the blue buck was in fact not a subspeaspe of roan antelope, like once believed, but rather a completely distinct species. It was also found that this was not a sister species of the sable antelope, with a divergence of about 2.8 million years ago, whereas it was even less related to the rhone antelope, which they diverged from about 4 million years ago, with there really being no very close relatives left alive. And since it's vanishing, there have been claimed of reported sightings, but nothing's really stuck. and minus the eyewitness report in 1853, that claimed to have seen an animal heavily resembling the Blue Buck near the city of Bethlehem, pretty much nothing. So again, another unique species gone for good. And with the Blue Buck, we arrive at a somber fork in the road,

as it is the last animal in this list that went extinct during a time that you were not around for. As for this next animal, chances are you were still alive and was declared extinct. And if you weren't, then you're probably not old enough to watch this video, as it was declared extinct less than five years ago. And this would be the Chinese paddlefish. or swordfish. This amazing fish was once native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins in China and was a member of the already rare and suffering family known as polyodontidae or paddlefish who are known for their longated rostrums which are filled with elector receptors called ampule

that allowed them to detect prey in even the murkiest of waters. In the Chinese paddlefish, they were the greatest of them all, at least from a size perspective. It's the largest recorded specimens of it were 7 meters or 23 feet long and weighed close to one ton, which is for reference heavier than typical polar bearer. and rendered them one of the largest known primarily freshwater fish ever. And because they lived in China, which has a very long recorded history, we actually know quite a bit about them. And historical accounts suggest that not so long ago,

they actually had a larger range that extended into East China and the Yellow Sea as well. And they were said to have migrated between freshwater and the sea, and could travel for over 1,000 miles or kilometers seeking better waters. They tended to be solitary creatures and were well noted for being strong swimmers that hunted down a range of small to medium-sized fish, like anchovies, gobies, and even catfish. Interestingly, ancient accounts also claimed that the fish was drawn to the sound of rhythmic objects, such as instruments, and was also regularly used for sacrifice,

based on the belief that killing one could bring about the rain. And while hunting only occurred on a relatively smaller scale, it might still have had an impact on the fish even as far back to the 12th hundreds, as certain historians reported an observable decline in the species during this period. But things would only get really dire once the 20th century rolled around, after modern ships and fishing techniques have been introduced to China. and commercial hunting of the Chinese paddlefish started to occur. And we know from bookings, the amount of these fish hauled annually reached over 25 tons during

certain years, resulting in their numbers sharply dropping the low thousands by the 1980s, with one 2024 study, estimating that in 1980, there was likely only 3,000 spawning paddlefish left. And surprisingly, compared to the other animals in this list so far, back then, the government was already aware of what was happening and was concerned, as just three years later, they made the fishing of the species illegal. Yet, the damage was done, and poaching still occurred periodically. And thus, over the coming years, the population continued to dwindle, which ultimately resulted in attempts to create a captive breeding stock.

But this failed, and the Chinese paddlefish kept slowly vanishing. In fact, ever since the year 2000, only two confirmed sightings of this creature occurred, both of them being prior to 2005, and in the Yianxie Basin, and involved two separate, three-meter or ten-foot-plus females, who died in one case, while the other was tagged, but then for some reason the tag stopped working only a few hours later, leaving its fate a mystery. And since then, the animal has not been seen at all, with extensive surveys between 2017 and 2018, stating that the animal was certainly extinct and likely died out between 2005 and 2010. But that being said, its fate was probably already sealed as early as 1993.

And as a culmination of these studies and surveys, the fish's status was finally updated to extinct in 2022. Now, what's interesting and quite sad in this case is that, While fishing definitely had a massive impact on its demise, it turns out that this wasn't actually what took out the fish, and rather what really sealed its fate was not a purposeful hunting, but rather the construction of a dam in 1981, the Gunzuba Dam, which effectively severed the paddlefish's ability to complete its life cycle, and dividing the fish population into two. And unfortunately, the Chinese paddlefish is not the only Chinese megafauna that is on this list.

And in fact, it's not even the only one from the Yangtze Basin, as it may be joined by what is possibly the next largest species in China to be declared recently extinct. the Baji, or in English, the Chinese River Dolphin. This adorable little river dolphin was, or is, depending on who you ask, a cetacean that inhabited the Yanksy River system, and was quite small for a cetacean too, with most never-breaking 170 kilos or 370 pounds. But that is still pretty big,

and so its size made it fairly easy to spot, which was only made simpler, thanks to its pale blue to gray back side, and then a unique dorsal fin that was low and triangular, resembling a flag of sorts. It also had small eyes for a dolphin and shorter fins overall. but it was still very capable of immense burst of speed when it fell threatened. And this striking appearance not only made it easy to spot,

but also led to it becoming a part of Chinese folklore, with a region of Yangtze regarding the animal as a symbol of peace and prosperity. And even today, it is considered a Chinese national treasure, having led to its appearance in many pop culture and media events. But in typical human fashion, its icon status did not keep it safe. Now, the Baiji historically was never really targeted, but once the Great Leap happened in 1958, things started to change. During this event, traditional values such a Chinese folklore and mythology were heavily denounced,

and this led to certain groups becoming more avid in hunting the dolphin for its flesh and skin. And so that combined with China's high population, it didn't take very long for the hunting to really start racking up, and the Baidu was quickly rendered, endangered. And then, even when the direct killings and huntings lessened, it was still at extreme risk, as China was developing rapidly at the time, with new industries popping up left and right, all which harmed the Baiji in various different ways. For example, residential and industrial waste seeped into its habitats, the riverbeds were dredged, ship traffic multiplied, nets for fishes caused them to get entangled, and then illegal fishing practices

killed them as collateral. And then obviously, of course, the overfishing with its prey, namely fish, also took a toll on the animal. And this is reflected in one survey by the bygy, between 1979 and 1996, which showed that the population of the river dolphin had dropped from the thousands to likely just hundreds, or even less, all within a couple decades. And then another big hit of its cetacean came from the construction of the three gorges dam. They liked the dam involved in the paddlefish's case, caused a restriction to its range, and also facilitated the increase in ship activity. And again, mirroring the case of the paddlefish, the Chinese government was actually aware that things were going really bad for it.

As even all the way back in the 1970s, they outlawed the deliberate killing of the Baiji, while also establishing nature reserves and setting up certain fishing laws to help it. Additionally, multiple foundations were founded with the aim of setting up a breeding program and relocating them to need. nature reserves. Yet unfortunately all these efforts failed, as the Baiji proved not only difficult to capture, but also hard to keep alive in captivity as well. And so while these efforts were well-placed, they ultimately came too late. And the government did in fact receive some internal criticism about not taking the endangerment of the Baiji seriously enough from the start. And so as a result, the river dolphin was pretty much already functionally extinct by the time anything was done.

That being said, I did mention these guys tend to die very quickly in captivity, but there was one captive Baiji, known as Tichi, who survived far, far longer than any other specimen, with it in fact living for 22 years after being found in a lake and relocated to a dolphinarium. Unfortunately, that was all the way back in 2002 and marked the time of the death at not only the last captive specimen, but also the last time that a Baiji was seen, period, beyond reasonable doubt. But despite a 2006 survey finding zero evidence of their survival, it was in 2007, where footage showing a living Baiji to a fair degree of certainty was released to the public. giving many scientists hope that the animal survives,

and that previous surveys were just inaccurate. And there have been other less supported sightings as well, including a claim of a Baiji swimming alongside Finland's purposes in 2018, and even a suspected siting in 2024 of two individuals. And yes, these sightings have not been confirmed, but I really hope, obviously, that they are true, as the loss of the Baiji goes beyond just losing another species, which is obviously bad enough.

As if it was extinct, this would be the first cetacean to go extinct by human hands, and it would render not only the species extinct, and not only the genus it belonged to, the lipote's, but also the superfamily, the Lipotidae, as the Chinese River dolphin was in fact the very last member of this group, which traced all the way back to the myocene. And to give you a degree of how ancient that is, that would basically be akin to every single ape on earth going extinct, which obviously would include us. And frankly, I much rather be found a miraculously saved than get a chance to make a video about yet another group of extinct animals. My sentiment on that extends to all animals that are endangered.

Thanks for watching, and until next time on Extinct Zoo. Hey y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder, what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair. With Wayfair, there's no what if. Just style you love and quality you can trust.

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