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Description

Extinction is a part & parcel of evolution. It allows for new organisms to arise from the ashes of older ones and thus brings new opportunities and lays out new paths for evolution. Humans however, have greatly exacerbated this natural process.
Growing to 9m in length & weighing ~10 tons, the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) was a gigantic relative of the modern dugong. At the time of its discovery by Europeans, in 1741, it was found only around the Commander Islands between Alaska and Russia. It was the only species of the genus Hydrodamalis to have survived into recent times, the rest had all gone extinct millions of years ago. Like modern Sirenians (dugongs & manatees) it was a herbivore, feeding on kelp. With a population just a few hundred-strong at the time of its discovery, the Steller’s sea cow was already headed toward extinction, but its decline was accelerated by humans, though not in the way you might expect.
The sea cow was hunted for its meat, as hunters found them easier to catch than powerful, deep diving & fast-moving whales. But, hunting of sea cows was never commercialized, unlike whaling. Instead, it was hunted mainly by sailors & indigenous peoples of the region who had travelled there to hunt sea otters, the furriest animal on Earth. Now sea otters prey on sea urchins, an echinoderm that has been known to devastate kelp forests. As the population of sea otters dwindled due to hunting, the number of sea urchins skyrocketed. This led to a dramatic decrease in kelp, the sea cows’ primary food source, and ultimately, in 1768 (just 27 years following their discovery) the Steller’s sea cow went extinct. While tragic, its extinction teaches us a valuable lesson in community ecology and shows us just how intricately connected life is. Every species, no matter how seemingly insignificant, always has a role to play in the greater scheme of things.

Luckily, dugongs & manatees seem to be doing well (all things considered anyway), and hopefully, we won’t have to witness the extinction of another sirenian in our lifetimes.

Tools: Blender, Photoshop, Substance Painter

Description

Extinction is a part & parcel of evolution. It allows for new organisms to arise from the ashes of older ones and thus brings new opportunities and lays out new paths for evolution. Humans however, have greatly exacerbated this natural process.
Growing to 9m in length & weighing ~10 tons, the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) was a gigantic relative of the modern dugong. At the time of its discovery by Europeans, in 1741, it was found only around the Commander Islands between Alaska and Russia. It was the only species of the genus Hydrodamalis to have survived into recent times, the rest had all gone extinct millions of years ago. Like modern Sirenians (dugongs & manatees) it was a herbivore, feeding on kelp. With a population just a few hundred-strong at the time of its discovery, the Steller’s sea cow was already headed toward extinction, but its decline was accelerated by humans, though not in the way you might expect.
The sea cow was hunted for its meat, as hunters found them easier to catch than powerful, deep diving & fast-moving whales. But, hunting of sea cows was never commercialized, unlike whaling. Instead, it was hunted mainly by sailors & indigenous peoples of the region who had travelled there to hunt sea otters, the furriest animal on Earth. Now sea otters prey on sea urchins, an echinoderm that has been known to devastate kelp forests. As the population of sea otters dwindled due to hunting, the number of sea urchins skyrocketed. This led to a dramatic decrease in kelp, the sea cows’ primary food source, and ultimately, in 1768 (just 27 years following their discovery) the Steller’s sea cow went extinct. While tragic, its extinction teaches us a valuable lesson in community ecology and shows us just how intricately connected life is. Every species, no matter how seemingly insignificant, always has a role to play in the greater scheme of things.

Luckily, dugongs & manatees seem to be doing well (all things considered anyway), and hopefully, we won’t have to witness the extinction of another sirenian in our lifetimes.

Tools: Blender, Photoshop, Substance Painter