The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration officially announced on Friday the upsetting news about the Caribbean monk which is now extinct. There were several rumors circling about the issue but until now there was no official confirmation.

According to many biologists, the monk population was exterminated as a result of the massive over-hunting missions, as the monks offered an excellent supply of food and blubber.

The animals were native to the Gulf of Mexico and to the Caribbean Sea and the time that a sighting of a Caribbean monk was reported took place back in 1952 between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Jamaica. Around the 1400sthe monks’ numbers reached a peak of about 250,000 and since then, solely due to human interference, the numbers decreased, and the animal was declared endangered by 1967.

The NOAA wanted to use the story in order to sound the alarm on other animal groups menaced by extinction. The agency knows that there is nothing else that can be done for the Caribbean monks, but the 1,200 Hawaiian and the 500 Mediterranean monks still have a chance for survival.

"We hope we've learned from the extinction of Caribbean monk seals, and can provide stronger protection for their Hawaiian and Mediterranean relatives,” said Kyle Baker, a biologist for NOAA's Fisheries Service southeast region, according to Time.com.

Even though there have been reported cases of reappearances by animals believed to be extinct, experts are rather pessimistic about the odds and plan to focus on several projects targeting the general awareness of people about their surrounding habitat and the much needed help required for its protection.