Extinct Season 1

Using the latest scientific research, advanced computer graphics technology and animatronics, Extinct looks at the life and demise of the dodo in the 1660s.

Theories for the extinction of the sabre-toothed tiger approximately 11,00 years ago have centred on climate change and the consequent loss of prey, but new evidence points to other factors.

The Irish Elk, a giant prehistoric creature that was neither Irish nor an elk, but a deer. Weighing as much as ten men with antlers spanning twelve feet, was the Irish elk a victim of its own success? Growing ever-bigger antlers sapped vital minerals and left the elk with brittle bones. As food became scarce during the Ice Age, the elk, hungry and weakened, faced a battle to survive...

A look at the life and demise of the great Auk, solving the mystery of its extinction using the latest scientific research and computer graphics.

Palaeontologist Sylvia Gonzalez examines the remains of the Columbian Mammoth, weighing twice as much as his woolly cousin. Perfectly adapted to the lush climate in South America, no animal was fierce enough to kill it.

The last Tasmanian Tiger was shot dead by a farmer in 1930, but was it man or nature that finally did for this beautifully evolved animal?