In Zelda 64, we met quite a few interesting races. The Gorons, The Kokiri, the Zoras, the Sheikah, and the Gerudo all lived in or around the land of Hyrule, along with the Hylians of course. Yet, even centuries (or 3 or 4 generations, depending on which source you use) later, in Link to the Past, all but the Hylians and the Zoras were gone. And even the Zoras were evil creatures. So where did the rest go? What did they do? What happened to them? And what changed the Zoras?

Let's start with the Kokiri. This should be rather easy. They were always a secluded race to begin with, as seen in the story and background to Zelda 64. Also, they were rather restricted, seeing as they will die if they leave the forest (another article, eventually). Thus, they either all left the forest and died, or they are still in there somewhere. Simple biology, common sense, and the Deku Tree Sprout pretty much rules out the mass suicide concept. They were not in the lost woods of LttP for a very obvious reason. The woods in LttP were north of Kakariko village, while they were south in Z64. Thus, the solution to this race is obvious. They were still around and still hidden, but outside the playing area of LttP.

The Sheikah should be explained rather easily. One of the townsmen in Z64 said that Impa was the last of the Sheikah. The easiest answer then would be to say that they are all dead. Yet I maintain that Agahnim is, in fact, a Sheikah. If so, then there had to be some Sheikah somewhere. Remember that Agahnim came from a different kingdom, not Hyrule. Preesumably, the Sheikah were becoming extinct only in Hyrule. And, if the townsmen was wrong, it would not be difficult for a Sheikah to be mistaken for a Hylian (they both have pointed ears, and otherwise look human). Either explanation -that there are no Sheikah in Hyrule or that there are, just not distinguishable from the Hylians- works. There is no way to tell which is true, so it's best not to worry about it.

Next, we deal with the Gerudo. They do not have pointed ears, and should be easily distinguishable from the Hylians. Yet there is no evidence of them anywhere in LttP. So they, at least, are definitely gone. They could be extinct, but that's a bit extreme. Thus, we can just assume they emigrated. But why? My theory has no basis except for the fact that it makes sense. Fact one: the Gerudo are absolutely dependant on the Hylians and Sheikah for reproduction. A gossip stone even said that the Gerudo go to town to look for boyfriends. Fact two: Ganondorf, the most hated person in Hyrule, was not only one of them, but was their leader. Can you see what I'm getting at? Would you want to marry someone who worked for Hitler, especially if you were French or Polish (or from any other country occupied by Germany) during WWII? I doubt it. Thus, the Gerudo probably had a bad reputation made worse by Ganondorf. They had to leave because they could not find any boyriends, to say it mildly.

To be honest, there are many theories regarding the Gorons. Mine is rather simple. Link I may have been a Dodongo buster, according to Darunia, but he didn't get rid of the Dodongos. Even 7 years later, they were still there. In other words, the Gerudo presumably still had a famine problem. How they survived seven years, I have no idea. But anyway, they would, like the Gerudo, be forced to leave. Since they are never seen again in Zelda games, they probably left the maps entirely. In Zelda 2, the entire western border was mountains, and was connected to the Death Mountain range. This is an easy way to explain them away. In fact, the caves in Death Mountain could even have been dug by the Gorons in their search for edible rocks. There is no way to know what happened to them, so we can only speculate.

This leaves the Zoras. They were not the most open race, as we saw in Z64. Anyone could enter the forest or Goron city, but not Zora's domain. And, if Ruto is any indication, they aren't exactly nice and sweet. And, judging from what they said, they have a feirce love for their royal family and Jabu-Jabu. Well, we never saw Jabu-Jabu again. I say that Ganondorf killed him, but I don't really know. Also, Link probably did not marry Ruto, seeing as none of his descendants had fins. Would the anger of losing their god and having their princess rejected be enough to drive this proud and independant race over the edge? I don't know. If you have another idea, tell me. Besides, they weren't exactly evil in LttP. They stayed to their domain, and seemed to just want to drive everyone else out. And the king Zora still gave Link the fins. It looks like they just wanted to be alone at that time.