The natural range of these animals covered the Karoo State as well as southern portions of Free State (South Africa). Quaggas’ preferred habitat was arid to temperate grasslands, occasionally – wetter pastures.

1778

Why did the quagga become extinct? The quagga’s extinction is generally attributed to the “ruthless hunting”, and even “planned extermination” by colonists. Wild grass eating animals such as the Quagga were perceived by the settlers as competitors for their sheep, goats and other livestock.

Amsterdam

While there are no intact dodo cells left today, scientists have retrieved bits of dodo DNA from a specimen stored at the University of Oxford.

The combination of human exploitation and introduced species significantly reduced dodo bird populations. Within 100 years of the arrival of humans on Mauritius, the once abundant dodo bird was a rare bird. The last dodo bird was killed in 1681.

The birds had no natural predators, so they were unafraid of humans. These sailors, and others to come, quickly decimated the dodo population as an easy source of fresh meat for their voyages. The last dodo was killed in 1681, and the species was lost forever to extinction.

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.

Most people are familiar with the sad story of the dodo. This plump, flightless bird was so tasty and so tame that it was hunted to extinction within a century by Dutch sailors arriving on the shores of Mauritius.

There are many animals that could beat megalodon. Some say megalodon ate Livyatan but it was an ambush predator and Livyatan might have eaten it too. The modern sperm whale, fin whale, blue whale, Sei whale, Triassic kraken, pliosaurus and colossal squid could all beat the megalodon.

Megalodon is NOT alive today, it went extinct around 3.5 million years ago.

When it comes to size, the blue whale dwarfs even the largest megalodon estimates. It’s believed blue whales can reach a maximum length of 110 feet (34 meters) and weigh up to 200 tons (400,000 pounds!).

Megalodon was potentially capable of taking on Blue Whales, but it is doubtful they’d go for something so large and tedious to kill, especially something 40 feet longer and far heavier, sort of like a lion going after an elephant. Besides, there was probably far better, far smaller whales to eat.

At lengths of up to 60 ft. long the Megalodon would be twice as large as the killer whale (one of the only cetaceans known to hunt and kill sharks and other marine mammals).

blue whale