Article - Extinct Animals

The dinosaurs, mammoth. dodo, the great auk, the Tasmanian tiger, Carolina parakeet, the Irish elk, the sabre-toothed tiger and many other animals were history. They are said to be extinct. The phenomenon when a certain animal or plant species become rare to find and cease to exist is called extinction. Extinction means the permanent dissappearance of a living species.

Dinosaur means ''terrible lizard''. Not all dinosaurs are giant sized. Some dinosaurs are slightly bigger than a small dog. The biggest dinosaur is the tyrannosaurus rex which eats meat. The first dinosaur is believed to have lived on Earth about 200 million years ago. Then, 65 million years ago, they became extinct.

The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is a large, chubby bird, slightly bigger than a turkey. The wings are too short for flying and the legs are too short for running. It was found living in the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, by Portugese sailors in 1507. The sailors killed the bird and collect the eggs for food during their journey. The dodo became extinct in the year 1685.