The US Fish and Wildlife Service removed 23 animals and a plant from the Endangered Species List. This formally labels these species as Extinct. The list changes over time. Many of the latest deleted species have not been seen in decades or longer.

Here are the latest lost!

                Bachman’s Warbler    A small yellow and black songbird commonly found in southern states. Last seen in the 1980’s. Lost to habitat destruction and collection.

Ivory Billed Woodpecker    Last seen in 1944. Was found in southern swamps. Lost to logging and collection.

                Scioto Madtom    Found in Ohio. Last seen in 1957. Lost because of silting from runoff.

8 Freshwater Mussels    Freshwater Mollusks are the most endangered group of organisms in the US.

Flying Fox fruit Bats    Lived on Guam and foraged on tropical fruits. Last seen inn 1968. Habitat loss brown snake predation and overharvesting for food.

San Marcos gambusia    A 1 inch fish that lived in the San Marcos River in Texas. Last seen in 1983. Lost to over water use.

Bridled White Eye    A green and white tropical bird found in Guam. Lost to the invasive Brown snake predation.

Extinction is not always inevitable. Often, it is a political choice. There are many other unique endangered species that could be lost without diligence.

Some species become extinct because of hybridization, or lack of evolution. They simply do not adapt to the changing ecosystems. As technology and Science improves, more species can be identified sooner, to allow protections and support to help. Some species go extinct because they are not recognized as endangered until too late. The US Fish and Wildlife Service works slowly. It takes an average of 12 years for a threatened species to be identified and protected.

Montana Grant