EXTINCT ANIMALS AND THEIR DIETS

Tick the animals which are already included in the category extinct:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)

The Tyrannosaurus Rex

The Quagga
The Tasmanian Tiger
The elephant
The Irish Deer
The panda bear
The Caspian Tiger
The Tanzania woolly bat

Now match each animal with its correct piece of information:

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)

The Tyrannosaurus Rex

The Quagga
The Tasmanian Tiger
The African elephant
The Irish Deer
The panda bear
The Caspian Tiger
The Tanzania woolly bat

1. was half-zebra half-horse.

2. went extinct 65 million years ago.
3. is only endangered.
4. went extinct in 1936.
5. is only endangered.
6. is the largest deer to have ever existed.
7. is only endangered.
8. was last seen in 1970.

Carnivores? Herbivores? Omnivores?

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)

The Tyrannosaurus Rex

The Quagga
The Tasmanian Tiger
The African elephant
The Irish Deer
The panda bear
The Caspian Tiger
The Tanzanian woolly bat
The dodo

Label the animals below:

____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

Lets learn about the dodo!

Read and discover by yourself why the dodo became an extinct animal
The dodo only existed in the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. This
bird weighed about 20 kilograms and it lost its ability to fly because food on
Mauritius was abundant and mammalian predators were absent.
We know about the external features of the dodo thanks to paintings and
written accounts from the 17th century, but these painting vary
considerably so mystery remains over its exact appearance. The same is
true of its habitat and behavior.
The dodo was first mentioned by Dutch sailors in 1598. By 1681, all dodos
had been killed by hungry sailors or their domesticated animals. Since then,
a large amount of sub-fossil material has been collected from Mauritius,

increasing the amount of solid evidence relating to the bird. The extinction
of the bird, within 80 years of its discovery, made people realise for the first
time that humans could induce the extinction of plants and animals.
The dodos were not afraid of humans because they had never seen a person
before. So they were easy prey for humans because dodos could not fly.
When humans first arrived on Mauritius, they also brought with them other
animals that had not existed on the island before, including dogs, pigs, cats,
rats, and Crab-eating Macaques. These animals destroyed the dodo nests
and humans destroyed the forests where the birds made their homes. So
they dodos lost their nests, eggs and food!

Now complete the sentence using the words in the box below:
humans nests eggs the island of Mauritius

The dodo lived in ______________________________. They were not afraid

of __________. People had animals and these animals destroyed the dodos
___________ and, sometimes, ate their ____________.

Answer key:
Extinct animals: all except the African elephant, the Tanzanian woolly bat and the
panda bear which are endangered species.
Animals and characteristics:
a-2

b-1

c-4

d-3,5,7

e-6

f-3,5,7

g-8

h-3,5,7

Carnivores, Herbivores or Omnivores?

Carnivores: The Tasmanian tiger, the Caspian tiger, the Tyrannosaurus Rex
Herbivores: The African elephant, the Irish deer, the Panda bear, the dodo (ate
only fruit according to early writings).
Omnivores:

Text about the dodo. Read the text with students helping with difficult
vocabulary and grammar expressions. Allow some minutes for them to retell what
they have read using their own words. Then, they have to complete the sentence I
have added at the end of the text.