12 Animals The Human Race Tragically Killed Off

5. Caribbean Monk Seal (Extinct 1952)

Caribbean Monk Seal
Wikipedia/NewYorkZoologicalSociety

The Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) - also known as the "sea wolf" or the "West Indian seal" - was a sea-dwelling mammal that lived in the seas around the Caribbean islands until the 1950s.

Similar to other seal species, the sea wolf was hunted by both sharks and humans - who wanted to use them for their oil.

The extinction of the seal was also accelerated by overfishing of its food supplies by humans, and the last sighting of one was at Serranilla Bank, between Jamaica and Nicaragua, in 1952.

 
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NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.