Giant Panda and Thylacine (Tasmanian Wolf) on a Carousel in Paris

Paris ~ October 14, 2008
The Dodo Carousel, Jardin des Plantes

We still have giant pandas in the world, but only about 1,600 to 3,000 of them, which is not many, especially when they are so hard to breed in captivity and they are not breeding well in the wild. We no longer have the fascinating marsupial - a thylacine, Tasmanian wolf, or Tassie tiger. We can thank modern humans in our egocentric stupidity for eradicating this unique animal (considered to be a pest) in the 1930s. Unsubstantiated reports of their possible existence persisted until the 1960s, but the thylacine was offically listed as extinct in 1982; the rule is that extinction is declared 50 years after the last definitively-living animal has died.

Here's Lee studying the sign near the carousel. I thought the artwork and explanations were terrific, allowing this entertaining carousel to educate and enrich those who cared to take a look. I also thought the drawings were quite nice. I've left the bottom photo very large in case you want to click on it and see the text and the drawings. For other animals on the carousel, click on the "dodo carousel" keyword below.

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Extinct Horned Turtle and Atlas Lion on the Dodo Carousel

Paris ~ October 14, 2008

The Dodo Carousel

of Extinct and Endangered Animals,

Jardin des Plantes

I want to focus on two animals today: the Horned Turtle (Meiolania sp.) and the Atlas Lion (Panthera leo leo), also known as the Nubian or Barbary lion. While some animals on the Dodo Carousel became extinct thousands of years ago, the last wild Atlas lion was shot and killed in 1922. This is terribly sad. Extinction was not due to a natural process, but was brought about by our thoughtlessness or uncaring behavior, and could have been prevented. It was later discovered that there were some "possible" descendants of this lion in zoos or circuses, but I believe that to this day the ancestry has not been proven or is mixed. The former range of this lion subspecies was Africa from Morocco to Egypt, and it may have been the heaviest of the lion species, although some experts believe the weights found in literature were exaggerated.

Poignantly, a few living species such as the gorilla and giant panda are also included on this carousel, and we can only hope they don't disappear under our stewardship.

Meiolania horned turtles survived in New Caledonia until about 2,000 years ago.

Click the keyword link below for more images of the Dodo Carousel.

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The Elephant on the Dodo Carousel

Paris ~ October 14, 2008
Jardin des Plantes

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Gorilla, Giant Panda, and Dodo Bird on the Dodo Carousel

Paris ~ October 14, 2008
Jardin des Plantes

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Triceratops on a Carousel

Paris ~ October 14, 2008

Jardin des Plantes

Here's a Triceratops, another animal in the series from the delightful and thought-provoking Dodo Carousel of Extinct and Endangered Animals. Check out the giant panda looking rather pensive in the background.

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Sivatherium: Not A Modern-day Giraffe

Paris ~ October 14, 2008

On the Dodo Carousel of extinct and endangered animals in the Jardin des Plantes are several extinct Sivatheria (singular: Sivatherium). Bleary-eyed in the dusk after a long walk, I thought they were giraffes. I was delighted to find that they were something much rarer in my experience, and I began to look at the rest of the animals. . . . I blogged about the carousel on my personal blog here, and someone else has blogged it here. You can learn more about Sivatherium on Wikipedia and Laelaps.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

The Dodo Carousel

Paris ~ October 14, 2008

The Dodo Carousel, Jardin des Plantes

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.