Extinction Awareness Day

What do you get when you cross a koala, a lemur, a rhino skull, and 5 cat brains, and creepy, creepy eyes? Today we'll look at the: Koala Lemur     Quick Facts: 1) Extinct 1280 - 1420 A.D. 2) a member of the lemur family 3) also known as megaladapis 4) lived on Madagascar 5) 4 - 5 feet long 6) brain 5x larger than a cat 7) 110 pounds 8) skull similar to a rhino's (without the cool horn) 9) creepiest looking animal ever

What do you call a bowl of kangaroo stew? A Pot-o-roo Today we'll look at the: Broad Faced Potoroo Quick Facts: 1) Extinct 1875 2) One of the few animals whose species was on a severe decline before Europeans arrived. 3) Rat like with short ears and very puffy cheeks    

What would you get if Big Bird and Snuffy had a child?  You'd get one messed up, yet massive creature known as the Elephant Bird.   Today we'll look at the: Elephant Bird Quick Facts: 1) Extinct around or before 1640 2) From Madagascar 3) The heaviest bird to ever live based on skeletal remains and standing around 10 feet tall. 4) The egg has the volume of 160 chicken eggs 5) May have been around when Europeans first arrived though accounts aren't totally clear. 6) You can buy elephant bird eggs and shell fragments which still wash ashore on Ebay.    

Sending a kid on a Snipe hunt is a good way to occupy them, but did you know that there were two types of snipes that did go extinct in New Zealand? Today we'll look at the: North Island Snipe Quick Facts: 1) Extinct 1870 2) a member of the sandpiper family 3) also known as the tutukiwi 4) last two observed by Captain Bennett on Little Barrier Island who captured one while the other escaped. 5) more white on chin and throat and crescent on abdomen

Is your kid still looking for snipes in the backyard? While they're occupied, let me tell you about the second type of extinct Snipe Today we'll look at the: South Island Snipe Quick Facts: 1) Extinct September 1, 1964 2) The last two recorded snipes were captured in 1964 but died soon after. 3) also known as tutukiwi in Maori language although it's a different species than North Island Snipe 4) Black rats were accidentally introduced on Stewart Island, and led to the snipe's demise.   A quote by Herbert Guthrie-Smith about the South Island Snipe, "Snipe begin to lay about the end of October and continue during the early November. Except that the legs are pale yellow they much resemble the common Snipe of the Old Country. The sexes vary but little, the male rather larger and of rather a richer plumage. The birds stand about two and a half inches high and measure along the body about six inches. Both male and female sit."