From Wikipedia

Pencil drawing of a recently killed specimen by Paul Philippe Sanguin de Jossigny, from around 1770

The Mauritius scops owl was the largest carnivore on the island prior to human settlement. Thus, unlike other local species of birds, it was not much affected by the introduction of predators such as cats, rats, and crab-eating macaques.

In the 1830s, the species seems to have been not uncommonly found in the southeastern part of the island, […] with the last testimony of observations referring to several encounters in 1837. However, as the cultivation of sugarcane and tea encroached upon its habitat, combined with reckless shooting, it disappeared rapidly. In 1859, Clark wrote that the bird was extinct.

This drawing and a few sub-fossil bones are all that remain of this owl.

  • OtterEnglish
    6•1 year ago

    I’ve seen jokes that ‘an owl is just some cat software running on bird hardware’, but this is something else

    However, as the cultivation of sugarcane and tea encroached upon its habitat, combined with reckless shooting, it disappeared rapidly

    :(

    • anon6789OP
      4•1 year ago

      I was looking forward to hearing people’s cat comparisons, so I didn’t say anything right away. I thought right away it looks like one of those fake old sideshow animals where they stuck 2 unrelated things together.

      People still have a long way to go as far as not putting themselves and their desires above our animal brothers and sisters, but I feel we’re getting closer. I think we’re getting closer to a point we can’t ignore species loss. It’s pretty easy to forget a single owl species in a place you’ll never go to, but once we start to lose animals from our normal lives, I feel it will start to hit home.

      I’m in the divide between Gen X and Millennials, and things like fireflies, butterflies and caterpillars, and fish in local waterways, I just don’t see anywhere close the number I did as a kid. It gets my attention, and it would be sad to see a day where something like a tiger or rhino was extinct outside of zoos, so I hope we learn before then.