Who said Noah brought extinct animals onto the ark (literally speaking)?
As for the flood, no there was no *global* flood,however there's a ton of evidence for an extremely large flood in the middle east. And you'll notice it's not just Judao-Christian religions that have a flood story.
Noah's flood, and the Sumerian and Babylonian flood stories may not be literally correct, but the mythological tradition of them is certainly based on truth.
Something from a quick googling:
http://www.flood-myth.com/otscholr.htm