Extinction Steller's sea cow

1966 soviet postage stamp depicting bering s second voyage , discovery of commander islands

steller s sea cow wiped out fur traders, seal hunters, , others followed vitus bering s route past habitat alaska. hunted collect valuable subcutaneous fat. 1768, twenty-seven years after had been discovered europeans, species extinct. in 1887 stejneger estimated there had been fewer 1,500 individuals remaining @ time of steller s discovery, , argued there immediate danger of sea cow s extinction.

the first attempt hunt animal steller , other crew members unsuccessful due strength , thick hide. had attempted impale , haul shore using large hook , heavy cable, crew not pierce skin. in second attempt month later harpooner speared animal, , men on shore hauled in while others repeatedly stabbed bayonets. dragged shallow waters, , crew waited until tide receded , beached butcher it. after this, hunted relative ease, challenge being in hauling animal shore. bounty inspired maritime fur traders detour commander islands , restock food supplies during north pacific expeditions.

interaction aboriginals

sea otters keystone species , keep sea urchin populations in check. depopulation in aleutian islands may have led decline of kelp , subsequently of sea cows.

the presence of steller s sea cows in aleutian islands may have caused aleut people migrate westward hunt them. possibly led sea cow s extinction in area, assuming animals survived in region holocene epoch, there no archaeological evidence.

it has been argued decline of steller s sea cow may have been indirect effect of harvesting of sea otters area s aboriginal people. otter population reduced, sea urchin population have increased, in turn reducing stock of kelp, principal food. in historic times, though, aboriginal hunting had depleted sea otter populations in localized areas, , sea cow have been easy prey aboriginal hunters, accessible populations may have been exterminated or without simultaneous otter hunting. in event, range of sea cow limited coastal areas off uninhabited islands time bering arrived, , animal endangered.

one factor potentially leading extinction of steller s sea cow, off coast of st. lawrence island, siberian yupik people have inhabited st. lawrence island 2,000 years. may have hunted sea cows extinction, natives have dietary culture heavily dependent upon marine mammals. onset of medieval warm period reduced availability of kelp may have been cause extirpation in area.