So Sad! 😢 (warrah wolf)

The warrah, also known as the Falkland Islands wolf, was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands and one of the most unusual canids ever documented.

Isolated for thousands of years with no natural predators and no prior exposure to humans, the warrah evolved without fear. Early explorers and settlers repeatedly described the animal as curious, calm, and remarkably approachable.

Charles Darwin encountered the warrah during his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle in the 1830s. He noted that the animals would approach humans closely and even swim out toward boats anchored offshore. This behavioral trait, which may have been advantageous in an isolated ecosystem, proved disastrous after permanent human settlement began.

The warrah posed little threat to people, but settlers viewed it as a nuisance and a potential danger to livestock.

Hunting was easy. The animals did not flee when approached and could be killed at close range. By the mid 1800s, sustained persecution and habitat disruption drove the species into rapid decline. The last known warrah was killed in 1876, marking the first recorded extinction of a canid species caused directly by human activity.

Added fact

Genetic studies suggest the warrah may have arrived on the Falkland Islands via a land bridge during the last Ice Age, long before humans reached the region.