By the mid-1890s, thanks to demand for their meat, skins and bones by Native Americans and white men alike, they were nearly extinct.

ECONOMIST: Buffalo in America

The cheetah became extinct in India nearly half a century ago.

BBC: Gujarat's Asiatic lions must be shared - Indian court

Far from discovering the Mississippi in 1542, Hernando de Soto's main claim to fame was lending his name nearly 400 years later to a now-extinct Chrysler family sedan.

WSJ: Book Review: Finding Florida

After waiting six months, they found that in the disturbed habitats nearly all the bug populations had declined compared with the undisturbed moss, and 40% of the species had become extinct.

ECONOMIST: Road kill