Pyrenean ibex
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| Pyrenean [ˌpɪrəˈniːən] ibex [ˈaɪbeks] |
The Pyrenean ibex is one of two extinct subspecies of the Spanish ibex. The species was once numerous and roamed across France and Spain, but by the early 1900s its numbers had fallen to fewer than 100. The last Pyrenean ibex, a female nicknamed Celia, was found dead in northern Spain on Jan. 6, 2000, killed by a falling tree. Scientists took skin cells from the animal's ear and preserved them in liquid nitrogen, and in 2009 an ibex was cloned, making it the first species to become "unextinct." However, the clone died just seven minutes later due to lung defects.
What caused the Pyrenean ibex's extinction remains unknown, but some hypotheses include poaching, diseases and the inability to compete with other species for food.
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