Bluebuck and One World Trade Center

Bluebuck : Extinct in 1800 

One World Trade Center : 541.3m, New York City, United States 

 

 

 

Bluebuck and One World Trade Center_76x57cm_watercolor on paper_2014

 

 

The bluebuck, a species of antelope famous for its mysterious blue skin, was the first large African mammal to face extinction in recorded history.  People hunted it avidly, mainly for its skin, and its distasteful meat was used to feed dogs.  The German zoologist Martin Lichtenstein claimed that the last bluebuck in South Africa had been shot in 1799 or 1800.  The bluebuck had survived more than ten thousand years even after the last ice age, but it fast became extinct after encountering humans.  Four mounted specimens of the bluebuck remain in museums in Vienna, Stockholm, Paris, and Leiden.  There is some controversy about whether the skin of the bluebuck was actually blue.  Because we cannot see a living bluebuck whatsoever, this remains an eternal mystery.