mylifeistelevision:

skunkbear:

The past is packed with monsters! Behemoths by the dozen!
Let’s meet these fossils! (and their less colossal modern cousins)

Earth’s ancient history is full of giant versions of modern animals. Evolutionary forces (competition for resources, changes in climate) pushed these species to become incredibly large. And I’m not just talking about giant dinosaurs - there were huge mammals and marsupials too. 

A lot of these giants lived in the Pleistocene, an epoch stretching from around 2.5 million to 11,000 years ago. Mysteriously, the extinction of many of these animals coincides with humanity’s arrival as a dominant predator.

Watch a video / listen to a poem about these prehistoric monsters.

Illustrations by Mary McLain

Except the whales were all like “hell nah, we’re gonna get SWOLE, bros”

vegan-veins:

veganmovement2012:

Formosan Clouded Leopard has been Declared Extinct

The Formosan clouded leopard, a subspecies of clouded leopard native to Taiwan, has probably been extinct for decades. But in the weird red-tape world of species extinction, it doesn’t count until scientists make it official. After 13 years of searching with no leopards in evidence, though, researchers are having to reluctantly conclude that this Taiwanese subspecies is no more.

Read More:

http://grist.org/list/the-formosan-clouded-leopard-has-been-declared-extinct/

http://www.treehugger.com/endangered-species/clouded-leopards-declared-extinct-taiwan.html

Poor babies 3