Extinct animals: Extinct for a reason?

We all know about extinct animals: the fearsome tyrannosaurus rex, the megamouth, the sabertooth tiger! But, if you could bring some animals back, which ones would it be?

Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

The passenger pigeon was once the most common bird in the US. They played a major role in seed dispersal, creating forest disturbances promoting regeneration and a mosaic of different forest stages. In the early 18th century, humans started to hunt and shoot these birds, thinking there was enough to go around. Deforestation also had a role in this. These poor birds just wanted to be the Lorax and speak for the trees! I think they deserve to come back.

Titanoboa (Titanoboa)

The Titanoboa, measuring between 42 and 47 feet, was the largest snake ever to slither across the face of earth. The Titanoboa inhabits lakes and warm swampy areas. The Titanoboa would definitely rule the, since it's a fierce predator and almost as long as a whale. The Titanoboa has no known predators, and its prey would be crocodiles or any other larger life forms in the swamps. Overall, I believe the Titanoboa would mess up many ecosystems, or even make some other smaller predators go extinct. I don’t think this should come back. (Imagine swimming with that thing!)

Short-faced bears (Arctodus)

Standing at 12 feet tall, these bears are ginormous. They lived across North America- from Alaska to New Mexico, and even California to Virginia. They are much more powerful and stronger, with a PSI (or pounds per square inch) of about 3,000, compared to a polar bear with ~1,200. This species went extinct about 11,000 years ago, at about the same time mammoths and dire wolves did. Their diet was mainly carnivorous, similar to polar bear’s, eating up to 35 pounds of meat a day! I can barely finish a hamburger. (See what I did there?) 

Wooly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)

The classic Wooly Mammoth. Males were typically around 9-11 feet, while females were shorter, 8.5 - 9.5 feet. Weighing at a max amount of 13,200 pounds, with the soles of their feet about %13.5 percent bigger than a normal elephant's, their steps shook the earth. Contrary to popular belief, the wooly mammoth lived in a grassland habitat- not icecaps -which climate change destroyed. The Earth warmed after the ice age, causing icebergs to rapidly melt and turned their grasslands into a soggy mess with no food. During the ice age humans wanted meat and warmth, so they hunted the wooly mammoths for clothing and food. 

Sicilian Pygmy Elephant (Palaeoloxodon falconeri)

The Sicilian Pygmy Elephant is one of the smallest elephants to exist, at about 3 feet tall. This species went extinct about 200,000 years ago, significantly due to the Strait of Messina. When this arose, it allowed bigger predators onto the island, such as the cave hyenas, cave lions, and wolves. Similar to other pygmy elephants today, it could start to get aggressive if humans were to get too close, but other than that it they rather passive. Their diet consisted of primarily grass, but they also ate leaves, berries, and flowers.