You know that saying, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"? That has to be hard to take if you're an endangered species. I mean, nothing lasts forever, but when you're among the last of your kind, chances are you're not smiling because you were around.
There are even fewer reasons to smile this year, as 2018 saw the last of some wonderful creatures, and 2019 isn't looking much rosier.
As in, the number of wonderful species that won't be around anymore because they've gone extinct.
Most prominently, the world saw the last of the Spix's Macaw, made famous for its appearance in the Rio movies, in the wild — about 100 remain, but all in captivity.
Biologists put the probability of their species' survival at just 0.1%, which qualifies them as extinct on The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
Another related population of panthers found only in South Florida faces huge challenges in its survival, with dwindling numbers and its habitat being rapidly urbanized.
The vaquita porpoise, for example, has an estimated population of just 12 at present. It's considered the most endangered marine animal.
Its population is put at less than 800, and its habitat just happens to be in the way of a massive Chinese hydroelectric dam project already underway, putting the species in peril.
They scuttled around alongside stegosaurus and diplodocus, and unfortunately, they have found status as a pricey delicacy, with some selling for $1,500 apiece. An exhaustive survey of their population turned up a mere 24 of them.
Of the 111 known species and subspecies of lemurs, all of which are endemic to Madagascar, 105 are under threat from hunting and poaching and habitat loss.
The largetooth sawfish in particular has seen significant declines and is trending downward. Exact numbers are unknown, but in some areas where it was once quite common, such as Thailand and Southeast Asia, it has completely disappeared.
