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.
Animals are going extinct at a much higher rate now than through most of the earth's history. Many species have disappeared since the development of photography. Take a good look, because this is all you'll see of these eleven species as they were. http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/02/11-extinct-animals-that-have-been-photographed-alive/ -via Digg
Previously at Neatorama: Video of a Thylacine and an attempt to resurrect the Quagga.
Evolution is a fact! Deal with it.
Because it's a well documented fact that over 99% of all species that ever lived are gone. It's actually one of the most wonderful things about life - the eternal cycle. There are countless reasons why beautiful creatures die out, and having a few photos to see what some were is actually kind of nice.
But I'm not going to dwell on them.
How could you possibly know that? There are species that are yet to be discovered. There are species and subspecies that have just begun. IE: Bolivian fresh water dolphin, various bird subspecies, various viruses, insects and plants.
see - http://tinyurl.com/c7bc6y
or - http://www.panda.org/index.cfm?uNewsID=152622
I could go on, or you could since you made the assertion.
How could anyone possibly know that species are declining at a much higher rate?
So, they weren't sure if it was a female?
Ok, I'll bite -- why are extinctions somehow more prevalent now? Is there some scientific study you can point to? Considering how little we know now about what species inhabit the planet, any measurement of the number going extinct is nonsense. And the idea that we have any feel at all for the rate at which this occurred over the entire history of the earth is also complete drivel, moreso in fact.
Now I realize it's there's a human tendency to think the era in which we live is singularly special. Add to that the guilt and arrogance of thinking every bad thing that happens is somehow our fault and you end up with silly statements like yours. I'm sure a great many folks would nod their dopey little heads in agreement. But species have been evolving and dying off for billions of years. Humans, like every other living thing, have an effect on the survivability of other species on the planet, both positively and negatively. And the number of species we have a direct impact toward is tiny compared to the diverse fauna of earth (again, a number we still have no idea how to measure).
Not to mention what happened to Dino. Yucatan crater, anyone? If an asteroid hit that was comparable (think the size of Texas), the entire planet would plunge into darkness, and there'd be no more funk. That would suck.