Journey, Golden Retriever (2 y/o), AKC National Championship Dog Show, Orlando, FL • “He steals everything – there’s not one thing another dog can have in his mouth that he won’t steal. He’s sweet and annoying.”
“My intersex variation is gonadal dysgenesis. I found out at age 15 when I still hadn’t gotten a period. I have XY chromosomes and I have to take estrogen to help my bone health because I was born without ovaries.”
“My intersex variation is congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). I found out at birth. CAH is one of few intersex variations with additional medical considerations, because it affects the body’s ability to produce stress hormones. I take testosterone and I identify as transgender.”
“My intersex variation is complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS). That means my body developed in a way that is “tipically” female, but I was born with XY chromosomes and internal testes instead of ovaries. My body is insensitive to testosterone, so it converts it to estrogen instead.“
“My intersex variation is parcial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS). That means I only partially responded to testosterone in the womb. (Because of this, people with PAIS may havve an ambiguous sex at birth.) My parents found out I have PAIS when I was born. I have XY chromosomes and I identify as transgender.”
Doctors often encourage surgical removal for female-identified intersex people who have internal testes. However, this is NOT medically necessary and has more to do with society’s views on sex and gender. Removing hormone producing organs makes a person reliant on the medical industry for external hormones! Similar to other LGBT groups, intersex people struggle for bodily autonomy. We may have to fight against surgeries we don’t want.
Not ‘cavemen hunted these’ recently extinct. Recently extinct as in ‘16 to 20 human generations ago’.
Aurochs
What: The ancestor of domestic cattle
Where: 3 subspecies found throughout Northern Africa, Europe, and India
When: 1627
Cause: Humans
Fun fact: They were mentioned in the Hebrew bible as re’em and mistranslated in the king James version as unicorns. There are numerous programs to revive the species
Haast’s Eagle
What: One of the largest flighted bird to have ever lived
Where: New Zealand
When: 1400s
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: It’s been speculated that the ‘giant hawk’ Maui transforms into in Disney’s Moana is a reference to this eagle, which still has cultural significance for the Maori people of NZ, and is known as Pouakai in legends
Quagga
What: Subspecies of plains Zebra
Where: Africa
When: 1883
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: It was the first extinct animal to have it’s DNA analyzed and there are efforts to revive the species. Though there are some triumphant sounding articles there, true quaggas are not back from the dead. We’re getting close now, and have 6 individuals now classed as ‘Rau quaggas’
Stellar’s Sea Cow
What: Massive sirenian mammal related to the modern dugong
Where: Bering Sea
When: 1768
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: It was declared extinct just 27 years after discovery by Europeans.
Thylacine
What: Marsupial carnivore
Where: Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea
When: 1936
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: There are purported sightings more than any other animal on this list. Many people believe this animal might still be out there
???
Moa
What: Immense flightless bird
Where: New Zealand
When: By 1445
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: These gigantic birds were the prey of choice for the aforementioned Haast’s eagle. When humans destroyed the Moa population, the eagle was starved out.
Mexican Grizzly Bear
What: Exactly what it’s name suggests
Where: Northern Mexico to southern Arizona and New Mexico
When: 1964
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: Like the Tasmanian tiger this bear might still be out there. The species was declared extinct in the 60′s, however, a brown bear was shot in Sonora in 1976
Elephant bird
What: Gigantic flightless bird
Where: Madagascar
When: By the 1700s
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: They have the largest recorded egg size of any bird, with their eggs weighting up to 22 lbs.
Eastern Elk
What: Large subspecies of elk
Where: Eastern USA
When: The last confirmed eastern elk was shot in 1877
Cause: Bullet (humans)
Fun Fact: This elk could weigh up to about 1,000lbs and could have antlers 6 feet in length. Another subspecies, Merriam’s elk, went extinct around the same time but once lived in southwestern USA.
Koala Lemur
What: Giant lemurs
Where: Madagascar
When: By the 1500s
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: These were relatively human sized lemurs, growing 4-5 feet tall (the average male chimpanzee stands at just under 4 feet)
Japanese Wolves
What: The Hokkaido and Honshu wolves of Japan
Where: Japan
When: By the 1900s
Cause: Humans
Fun Fact: These wolves were purposefully exterminated with mass poisoning efforts by an American hired by the Japanese government.
* Some of these animals aren’t technically megafauna; I’m being lose with the term. The thylacine is about 30 lbs shy of the marker, the Japanese wolves fall a little short, and Haast’s eagle falls well below.
** I’ve left out some of the more recent and / or better known animals; I wanted to focus on animals I feel are slipping from general memory.
*** There are actually several subspecies of Moa, though I’ve lumped them together as they all met the same fate around the same time.
concept: anakin sitting in the council room bouncing baby luke on his knees as he adamantly denies having children or attachments
And denies the Council permission to induct Luke and Leia Skywalker (no relation) into the crèche.
Leia runs up to him yelling, “Daddy! Look at this picture I drew of you and me and Mommy!”
He praises her artwork and tells her they will put it on the fridge at home, then turns to Mace and says, “I have no idea who this child is.”
all the comments on this post are the best out of any I’ve ever gotten but Anakin looking Mace dead in the eye and saying “I had no idea who this child is” might honestly be the best addition of them all
Solutions Without Problems 