Can Animals Evolve Themselves Into Extinction?

An artist's rendition of a Haast's eagle attacking moa. Source : WikiCommons2

There is evolution and then there is de-evolution, a trait that has been observed in some species in the wild

Evolution is a very very very slow process - a single evolutionary advantage can take decades to perfect. See it this way: Predators, along with their preys, are engaged in a constant race to evolution. They are simultaneously evolving, albeit it differently.

When there is an imbalance in the eco-system, where the prey outnumbers the predator; it creates a conundrum for the species. Animals only hunt when they want to eat - but a healthy and surplus supply of food might lead to an increase in the population of the predator species, which will lead to an eventual decline in the population of the prey and then the predator himself.. 
The Haast’s eagle from New Zealand had evolved to prey specifically on the flightless moa bird. The arrival of humans in the 13th Century led to the extinction of the moa birds due to increased hunting by the human settlements,, within 200 years! The Haast's eagle, whose only prey was the Moa bird, had not evolved its dietary preferences to adapt to an environment without the Moa, leading to it extinction as well.

Multifaceted designer and sculptor Dan Kelly, of Glenorchy, presents The Haast Eagle (2014), his third and most lifelike and life-sized metal sculpture of the extinct creature from New Zealand's past. Photo by James Beech. Source : Otago Daily Times2

This phenomenon, known as ‘coextinction’, is often seen in certain parasites that have adapted to live on a single host animal. 


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