Top Ten Animals That Could Be Brought Back From Extinction

Thanks to some scraps of DNA and a lot of scientific ingenuity there's hope that some long-extinct creatures may walk the Earth again. The first up is the Raphus Cucullatus. This animal is more commonly known as the Dodo bird. This is the flightless bird native to the tiny island of Mauritius. This bird was killed for food because it was so easy for people to catch.

Next up is the Tympanuchus Cupido Cupido: The Heath Hen. The likely feature at the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving dinner, this bird made quite a filling meal. These animals were plentiful in the early 1900s, but they were literally eaten out of existence.
The Neomonachus Tropicalis was the Carribean Monk Seal. This was originally known as the sea wolf. This creature was a tragedy of the human population as well. Humans first depleted their fish, then hunted them to extinction for their oil.

The Megaloceros Giganteus, or Irish Elk, was once the largest deer to ever walk the earth. These beautiful and majestic creatures stood twelve feet high. They died out toward the end of the Ice Age.

Number five on the list is Thylacinus Cynocephalus. This is also known as the Tasmanian Tiger. This was the biggest marsupial of modern times. It is quite a strange looking creature, and it almost looks like it is a cross between a few different animals. The last of these tigers of Tasmania died at the Hobart Zoo in 1936.

The Dinornis Novaezealandiae was the Moa: A giant flightless bird that once inhabited New Zealand. Moa were wiped out by Polynesian settlers, who hunted them for food.
The Bos Primigenius was the Aurochs, and it is the ancestor of domestic cattle. The last recorded live aurochs died in 1627 from natural causes unfortunately. Even if it does look incredibly similar to the cattle we see today, it is not the same animal.

The Coelodonta Antiquitatis or Woolly Rhino, was depicted on cave walls in France thirty thousand years ago. It resembles a cross between a rhino and a wooly mammoth. The worst part of this animal’s story is that they survived through the Ice Age, but they were ultimately exterminated by human hunting. The number of species of animals who were run into extinction because of human interaction is staggering and sickening. This beautiful creature was one of these casualties.

The Smilodon Fatalis was the saber toothed cat. This cat is a pretty recognized iconic image with most people. It was a lion sized predator with long canine teeth. These beautiful creatures went extinct after the Ice Age over eleven thousand years ago.

At the end of the list is Mammuthus Primigenius. This may quite possibly be the most iconic extinct creature that ever existed. Everyone knows the wooly mammoth. Even children’s movies depict this animal. They are the classic symbol of the Ice Age. Unbelievably, scientists are actually trying to bring these animals back into existence. They plan to use a surrogate elephant to perform this feat.