SPECIES PUSHED INTO EXTINCTION!

Bollywood star Salman Khan was recently convicted in the blackbuck poaching case. Black bucks are antelopes that are indigenous to the plains of India. Let’s track some rare wildlife species that were hunted, poached or pushed into extinction.

1This beautiful lion ( Panthera leo leo) has a very distinctive face shape; a long snout and a thick dark mane of hair. They are regionally extinct due to massive hunting. The last recorded lion was shot in Morocco in 1942. They famously battled gladiators in the Roman Coliseum. Identify.

2This dog- like marsupial was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It had tiger- like stripes and was found in Australia & Papua New Guinea. They were wiped out in the 20th century. The farmers found them a nuisance and last of them was shot in Tasmania in 1930 by Wilf Batty. Identify.

3These colourful lizards are being caught and trafficked from northeastern Indian states to Southeast Asian countries, where many people believe that medicines made from their meat can cure diseases such as HIV. There’s no proof of their efficacy in any of these uses. Identify.

4Between 1970 and 1992, 96 per cent of this ( Diceros bicornis) was killed for their horns, leaving them with a critically endangered status. The horn is a delicacy and a status symbol in Vietnam, the Chinese believe it can help with a multitude of health problems. Identify.

5They were Nicknamed “Original Penguin,” and were flightless birds. They lived in the North Atlantic oceans and came on land to breed. They were killed for their valuable feathers, pelts, meat and oil. The killing of the last mating pair happened on July 3, 1844, by Sigurour Isleifsson. Identify.