1. hunted excessively; depleted in population due to excessive hunting

1. past tense and past participle of overhunt; to hunt (a species or population) excessively, reducing its numbers unsustainably

Examples

• The overhunted elephant population in that region has declined dramatically over the past decade.
• Conservationists worry that the species has been overhunted to the brink of extinction.
• Whales were overhunted for centuries before international protections were established.
• The government overhunted the deer population, which led to ecological imbalance.
• Many indigenous communities have had to stop hunting overhunted animals to allow populations to recover.
• Overhunted species require decades of protection to rebuild sustainable numbers.