It is estimated that between 3 and 5 billion Passenger Pigeons inhabited the US when Europeans arrived in North America, but their settlement led to mass deforestation resulting in habitat loss and a reduction in the bird population. The vaquita, only discovered in the late 1950s, is the smallest marine mammal on Earth. And there are less than 30 wild vaquita left. There's little question that humanity's continued exploitation of wild animals and the depletion of their habitats have left many species either clinging to existence, or at worst, extinct. The Spix's macaw, made famous by the movie "Rio," were declared extinct in the wild 2018. Of note is the vaquita, the dolphin-like porpoise that lives in the Sea of Cortez. Matt Gilligan ©Wikimedia Commons . These are the animals that went extinct in 2018 And the ones we could lose in 2019. 17 Animals That Became Extinct In Our Lifetime As we bid farewell to Lonesome George, the last of his Galapagos tortoise subspecies, remember that plenty of … ... 12 Most Endangered Animals in the World That Are Almost Extinct. 2018-07-06T13:49:00Z ... species around the planet are going extinct. Animals made extinct in 2018 PA Images/Pixabay. The Falkland Islands wolf went extinct in the late 1800s and was also known as the Antarctic wolf and the Falkland Islands fox. With the end of 2018 comes the near-certain reality that some critters, after millions of years of existence on Earth, are gone for good. Dozens of incredible species went extinct in 2018, leaving a huge void in the wild, which are not going to be replaced. Native to North America, the Passenger or Wild Pigeon has been extinct since the early 20th century. Part of it – a big part – is the fault of human beings, part of it is natural selection. The world that we live in is very big but that being said, it is also a world with limited resources. And each year, some animals go extinct. These Are the Animals That Went Extinct in 2018. An additional species of bird that reached the verge of extinction in 2018 is the Spix’s macaw, which was declared extinct in the wild and now only a few captive Spix’s macaws are alive. Sadly, living on Earth means that we inevitably cause harm to other animal species. 2018 also saw species that may go extinct at any moment. By Egline J., ... 2018 at 7:35 pm - Reply. 837 Share Tweet Pin It Stumble. Historically, species living on islands have been the most vulnerable. But according to a report from the Weather Network, the animal population has shrunk a little as of 2018 as a number of species officially went extinct.. Scientists announced in 2018 three bird species vanished from the Earth for good, and more species on the brink could disappear forever in 2019. Around 100 birds still exist in captivity. Some of the most famous extinct animals of recent times have been birds--but for every Passenger Pigeon or Dodo, there's a much bigger and much lesser-known casualties like the Elephant Bird or the Eastern Moa (and many other species remain endangered to this day). If we don’t do something to save the most endangered animals today, they will soon become extinct and we humans will be to blame. In the USA, just a few dozen endangered red wolves remain in the wild, and the population could go extinct within eight years, according to a report released in 2018 by the U.S. In 2018, The Alongside Wildlife Foundation started a small grants program to support wildlife conservation projects around the world. Due to a study searching for endangered Australian small mammals in 2015, several species of rodent and small marsupial were declared officially extinct in Australia this year. 2018 also saw species that may go extinct at any moment. Scroll For Article Below Advertisement. This species was wiped out in the wild because of deforestation and other factors such as the creation of a dam and trapping for wild trade.