According to this article, dodos were large pigeons, and did not taste good. (Subscription required). It wasn’t that they were hunted to extinction, it was the rats and pigs that did them in, by eating the eggs from their nests.

Despite the popular belief that dodo meat was inedible because of its revolting taste, dodos were eaten by these early settlers, and even considered to be a delicacy by some. However, there is no evidence to support the idea that dodos were eaten to extinction.

Although the tale of the dodo bird’s demise is well documented, no complete specimens of the bird were preserved; there are only fragments and sketches. The dodo bird is just one of the bird species driven to extinction on Mauritius. Although the dodo bird became extinct in 1681, its story is not over.

Diet of the Dodo Scientists believe that, in addition to fruit, dodos likely fed on nuts, berries, roots, seeds, and bulbs. Other relatives feed on shellfish and aquatic invertebrates. Because of this, scientists believe the dodo may have done so as well.

Over-harvesting of the birds, combined with habitat loss and a losing competition with the newly introduced animals, was too much for the dodos to survive. The last dodo was killed in 1681, and the species was lost forever to extinction.

World Wildlife Day 2020: The Indian Cheetah and Sumatran Rhino were among some of the species that went extinct in 2019.

• Sumatran Rhino.
• Chinese paddlefish.
• Yangtze giant softshell turtle.
• Indian Cheetah.
• Spix Macaw.
• Indochinese tiger.

Koalas Will Become Extinct By 2050 Without ‘Urgent’ Government Intervention- Study. Koalas may become extinct by 2050 without urgent government intervention, according to a report published by the Parliament of New South Wales (NSW).

Javan rhino

The Vaquita is currently the rarest animal in the world, and quite possibly the most endangered, with only about 10 individuals left in the wild.

24 Rarest of Rare Awesome Things Found on Earth Ever

1. White Peacocks (Found in Grasslands of Australia and India)
2. Bismuth Crystals.
3. The Insides of a Meteorite.
4. Jeweled Squid (Mid Atlantic and Pacific Ocean)
5. ‘Life Within Death ‘ : Chinese Lantern (China, Japan and Southern Europe)

pangolin

20+ Beautiful Animals We Can’t Stop Staring At

1. Mandarin fish. mxyptplx.
2. White tiger. © shutterstock.com.
3. Leafy sea dragon. © shutterstock.com.
4. Blue and gold macaw.
5. Glasswinged butterfly.
6. Arctic fox.
7. Scarlet macaw.
8. Fire salamander.

Inspired by Reddit, we put together a selection of such unheard-of creatures and weird animals as a Dumbo Octopus, Pink Fairy Armadillo, Star-Nosed Mole, and Aye-Aye. The other most known animal to forage this way is a woodpecker. In other words, Aye-Aye is probably one of the coolest animals there is.

Leech

15 of the Strangest Animals in the World and Where to See Them

• 2: Harpy Eagle. With a look that suggests a cross between a cockatoo and a bird of prey, the harpy eagle is one of the most distinct birds on the planet.
• 3: Coatimundi.
• 4: Jabiru Stork.
• 5: Axolotl.
• 6: Naked Mole Rat.
• 7: Pangolin.
• 8: Tasmanian Devil.
• 9: Echidna.

skinks

Flatworms, nematodes, and cnidarians (jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals) do not have a circulatory system and thus do not have blood. Their body cavity has no lining or fluid within it. They obtain nutrients and oxygen directly from the water that they live in.

Explanation: Currently, there is no animal with that amount of hearts. But Barosaurus was a huge dinosaur which needed 8 hearts to circulate blood upto it’s head. Now, the maximum number of hearts is 3 and they belong to the Octopus.

National Geographic confirms that these gentle giants are the tallest land mammals in the world. Their necks are 6 feet long on average, which is why they need powerful cardiovascular systems. Unlike octopus or squid — which do have multiple hearts — giraffes only have one heart.

Sponges

Octopuses have 9 brains because, in addition to the central brain, each of 8 arms has a mini-brain that allows it to act independently. Octopuses have blue blood because they have adapted to cold, low oxygen water by using hemocyanin, a copper rich protein.

The tiny blue-ringed octopus, one of the world’s most venomous animals, can kill an adult human in minutes. These rings are a warning when the animal is threatened. If a predator doesn’t leave, the octopus then attacks by ejecting venom that causes paralysis and, later, death.

Squids have three hearts; one main heart and two branchial hearts. Octopuses and squid have three hearts. Earthworms have five hearts. Scientists are studying cockroach and hagfish hearts to help design solutions for human heart disease.

Like us, octopus have large brains compared to their body size – easily the biggest of all invertebrates (animals without a backbone) and of comparable size to many vertebrates, such as frogs.

Paralyzing toxins. In most octopuses, this venom contains neurotoxins that cause paralysis. Octopus bites can cause bleeding and swelling in people, but only the venom of the blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) is known to be deadly to humans.

Octopus feel pain and they feel themselves being chopped up and eaten alive. If you look at us, most of our neurons are in our brain, and for the octopus, three-fifths of its neurons are in its arms.” Furthermore, not only do octopus experience physical pain when abused, they are capable of feeling emotional pain too.

Intelligence. The octopus has a complex nervous system and is capable of learning and demonstrating memory. In both laboratory and ocean settings, the octopus is known to recognize faces.