A guide to the animals we are eating to extinction

One of Douglas Adams' works, the radio series Last Chance To See was about endangered species that we may not have with us much longer. Last chance to eat is a menu of animals that we currently eat but due to our appetite may soon be off the menu for good.

The Blue Fin Tuna Thynnus thynnus

The Blue Fin Tuna is a very large fish, native to the North Atlantic. It is also delicious, especially in Sushi¹. The species is listed as critically endangered which means that it is probable that it will be extinct within a decade - this is literally a case of "buy today, while stocks last".

The Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata

This is a smallish² whale generally hunted for it's blubbery flesh. Commercial whaling is banned so technically you can only eat whales that have been killed for research purposes. However, since research into how good a whale tastes is permitted it is possible that we will have eaten them all soon anyway.

The Beluga Sturgeon

Beluga caviar is considered to be one of the finest foodstuffs money can buy. Unfortunately³ caviar is made up of fish eggs therefore eating this drastically reduces the sprat population which makes the species very vulnerable to over fishing. As the Beluga only reaches maturity after 20 years this decline is very much one way - in the last 7 years the number of Beluga have dropped 40 per cent in the Northern caspian sea and the fish has vanished altogether from the Southern Caspian region.

The Rhino

The rhino is unique amongst the species that we are eating to extinction in that it is pretty much inedible. However the horn of the rhino is considered to be an aphrodisiac and for this reason the rhino is on the critically endangered list. The fact that the rhino horn is made of hair and the only possible link to sexual performance is its phallic shape may not stop it being eaten to extinction.

The Gorilla

The gorilla was on the verge of extinction due to habitat destruction over two decades ago but has hung on in a number of parts of Western and Central Africa. However it is now threatened by the bush meat trade as gorillas are easy to track and have a significant amount of meat per animal.

Going, going ......gone!

Unfortunately some animals have already been eaten. All of them. Thanks to the inconsiderate nature of our forbears we have nothing but historical accounts as a guide to their taste.

The passenger pigeon

The passenger pigeon was once the most numerous bird species in North America. It was migratory and some reports put the flock sizes in the millions. However it was also extremely easy to hunt and it wasn't particularily long until they'd all been eaten.

The blue pike

The blue pike used to live in the great lakes of the United States. They were a particular favourite of sports anglers as they were quite large and so could put up a decent fight. They didn't