India’s rich wildlife once included unique animals that roamed its forests, grasslands, and rivers. Sadly, many species, like the cheetah and pink-headed duck, have vanished due to hunting, habitat loss, and human growth. These losses remind us to protect what remains. In 2025, with 1,400 endangered species in India, per iucnredlist.org, learning about extinct animals pushes us to save others. This 1200-word guide, written in a warm, simple tone, explores five extinct Indian species, their lives, why they disappeared, and lessons for today. Let’s honor these lost creatures and their stories.
Asiatic Cheetah: The Speedy Ghost
The Asiatic cheetah, once racing across India’s plains, was a sleek hunter reaching 120 km/h, per nationalgeographic.com. Smaller than African cheetahs, it thrived in open grasslands, chasing deer, per britannica.com. By 1947, hunting by royals and habitat loss to farms wiped them out, per worldwildlife.org. The last sighting was in 1952, per thehindu.com. In 2025, India’s plan to reintroduce African cheetahs in Kuno National Park, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com, aims to revive their legacy, but challenges like prey scarcity remain, showing the need to protect habitats early.
Life and Habitat
Asiatic cheetahs lived in Rajasthan and Gujarat’s scrublands, needing vast spaces to hunt, per nationalgeographic.com. Their tan fur with black spots hid them in grass, per britannica.com. They ate chinkara and blackbuck, per worldwildlife.org. A single cheetah needed 100 km², per thehindu.com. In 2025, their absence highlights how farms and roads destroyed their roaming grounds, urging us to save grasslands for other species, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Reasons for Extinction
Royal hunts killed thousands, with Mughal records noting 1,000 cheetahs yearly, per britannica.com. By 1900, grasslands became farms, shrinking prey, per nationalgeographic.com. British bounties worsened losses, per worldwildlife.org. By 1947, fewer than 50 remained, per thehindu.com. In 2025, this shows how unchecked hunting and land use can erase species, pushing us to act faster, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Pink-Headed Duck: The Colorful Mystery
The pink-headed duck, with its bright pink head, once swam India’s wetlands. Found in Assam and Bihar, it fed on plants in swamps, per birdlife.org. Last seen in 1949, it vanished due to wetland drainage and hunting, per iucnredlist.org. Its shy nature made it hard to study, per britannica.com. In 2025, searches in Myanmar’s marshes continue, per thehindu.com, but hope fades. Protecting wetlands could save other birds, like the spoon-billed sandpiper, from a similar fate, per nationalgeographic.com.
Wetland Homes
These ducks lived in Assam’s Brahmaputra marshes, diving for water plants, per birdlife.org. Their pink heads and brown bodies stood out, per britannica.com. They nested in tall grasses, per iucnredlist.org. Wetlands gave them food and safety, per nationalgeographic.com. In 2025, drained marshes for farms remind us to preserve wetlands, vital for 200 bird species, per thehindu.com, to avoid more losses.
Why It Vanished
Hunters prized the duck’s feathers, per birdlife.org. By 1900, Assam’s wetlands were drained for rice fields, per britannica.com. Flood control dams cut water flow, per iucnredlist.org. Fewer than 100 remained by 1930, per nationalgeographic.com. In 2025, this loss stresses saving wetlands, with 60% gone in India, per thehindu.com, to protect birds like sarus cranes.
Indian Aurochs: The Mighty Cattle
The Indian aurochs, a massive wild cow, roamed India’s forests 10,000 years ago, per britannica.com. Standing 2 meters tall, it grazed grasslands, shaping ecosystems, per nationalgeographic.com. Domestication and hunting led to its extinction by 2000 BCE, per iucnredlist.org. Its genes live in Indian zebu cattle, per thehindu.com. In 2025, studying aurochs DNA helps conserve native breeds, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com, showing how ancient losses guide modern efforts to save wildlife.
Grazing Giants
Aurochs lived in Indus Valley forests, eating grasses and shaping landscapes, per nationalgeographic.com. Their huge horns scared predators, per britannica.com. Herds of 50-100 roamed widely, per iucnredlist.org. They helped plants spread, per thehindu.com. In 2025, their absence shows how large grazers balance ecosystems, urging protection of bison habitats, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com, to maintain nature’s health.
Extinction Causes
Early farmers hunted aurochs for meat, per britannica.com. By 3000 BCE, many were tamed into cattle, per nationalgeographic.com. Forests became fields, leaving no space, per iucnredlist.org. Climate shifts dried grasslands, per thehindu.com. In 2025, this warns us to limit farming’s spread, with 30% of India’s forests gone, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com, to save species like wild buffalo.
Himalayan Quail: The Mountain Riddle
The Himalayan quail, a small bird, lived in Uttarakhand’s grassy hills. With red bills and spotted feathers, it ate seeds, per birdlife.org. Last seen in 1876, it vanished due to hunting and grass fires, per iucnredlist.org. Its high-altitude home made it rare, per britannica.com. In 2025, surveys in Nanda Devi hope for rediscovery, per thehindu.com, but habitat loss threatens others like the cheer pheasant, per nationalgeographic.com, pushing for hill conservation.
Hill Habitats
Quails hid in Uttarakhand’s 1,800-meter slopes, eating seeds and insects, per birdlife.org. Their brown spots blended with grass, per britannica.com. They nested in rocky patches, per iucnredlist.org. Hills gave safety, per nationalgeographic.com. In 2025, cleared slopes for grazing show why we must protect highland grasses, home to 50 bird species, per thehindu.com, to prevent more losses.
Why It Disappeared
Hunters shot quails for sport, per birdlife.org. Grass fires for grazing destroyed nests, per britannica.com. By 1850, fewer than 200 remained, per iucnredlist.org. Roads cut their hills, per nationalgeographic.com. In 2025, with 40% of Himalayan grasslands gone, per thehindu.com, saving slopes is key to protect birds like the Himalayan monal, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Dodo of India: The Great Indian Bustard
The Great Indian Bustard, a heavy bird, once roamed Rajasthan’s grasslands. Weighing 15 kg, it ate grass and insects, per birdlife.org. By 2011, it was nearly extinct, with under 100 left, per iucnredlist.org, due to power lines and farming, per britannica.com. In 2025, conservation in Desert National Park aims to save it, per thehindu.com, but wind turbines threaten, per nationalgeographic.com, urging us to act for grassland species.
Grassland Dwellers
Bustards lived in Rajasthan and Gujarat’s dry plains, strutting for mates, per birdlife.org. Their brown feathers hid them, per britannica.com. They needed 100 km² per bird, per iucnredlist.org. Grasslands fed them, per nationalgeographic.com. In 2025, with 70% of plains farmed, per thehindu.com, protecting parks saves bustards and others like blackbucks, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Extinction Drivers
Power lines killed bustards mid-flight, per birdlife.org. Farms replaced 90% of grasslands by 2000, per britannica.com. Pesticides cut insects, per iucnredlist.org. Only 50 remain in 2025, per nationalgeographic.com. Wind farms add risks, per thehindu.com. Saving grasslands, with 20% left, is vital for species like wolves, per timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
