The Great Auk, a large, flightless seabird of the North Atlantic resembling a penguin, became extinct in the mid-19th century. Its disappearance serves as a clear example of how human activities can lead to species loss. This article details the Great Auk’s vulnerabilities and the exploitation that caused its extinction.
The Great Auk: A Unique and Vulnerable Bird
The Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) was a substantial bird, standing 75 to 85 centimeters (30 to 33 inches) tall and weighing around 5 kilograms (11 pounds). Its black and white plumage featured a large white patch over each eye during breeding season. Though flightless, its small, powerful wings, about 15 centimeters (6 inches) long, were highly adapted for underwater propulsion, allowing it to “fly” through water with remarkable speed and agility in pursuit of fish and crustaceans.
On land, the Great Auk was clumsy and slow, waddling upright due to its legs being set far back. This made it vulnerable ashore, especially during breeding season. They nested in dense colonies on remote, rocky islands with ocean access, a habitat requirement that limited their breeding sites across the North Atlantic. The Great Auk also had little fear of humans, making them easy prey.
The Drivers of Its Demise: Human Exploitation
Human exploitation was the primary cause of the Great Auk’s extinction, with centuries of relentless hunting decimating its populations. From the eighth century, indigenous peoples and later European sailors hunted the birds for food, eggs, and down feathers. Its large size made it a convenient source of meat, salted and barreled for long sea voyages.
The birds were also highly valued for their fat and oil, rendered for lamp oil and other uses. As demand for down-filled mattresses and pillows grew, feather merchants turned to the Great Auk. Crews herded birds into stone enclosures on breeding islands, boiling them alive to extract plumes, then burning oily carcasses as fuel. Eggs, laid singly, were systematically collected by the thousands for consumption and as collector’s items, severely impacting reproduction.
As the Great Auk became rare, its desirability among collectors and museums intensified hunting pressure. Specimens of skins and eggs fetched high prices, leading to expeditions to acquire the last individuals. This commercial interest, combined with a lack of effective conservation measures or awareness during the 18th and 19th centuries, prevented the species from recovering.
The Final Stand: Last Sightings and Extinction
The Great Auk’s population rapidly declined in the 19th century, with breeding sites disappearing from North America and most of Europe. The last significant colony moved to remote islands off Iceland. Geirfuglasker, or “Great Auk Rock,” submerged after a volcanic eruption in 1830. The remaining birds then moved to the nearby, more accessible island of Eldey.
Eldey became a target for collectors seeking the last specimens. On July 3, 1844, three Icelandic fishermen, acting on behalf of a merchant, captured and killed the last confirmed Great Auk pair on Eldey. They also crushed the single egg the pair was incubating, marking the definitive end of the species. While unconfirmed sightings were reported later, including one in 1852, the Eldey event is widely accepted as the Great Auk’s extinction date.
The Great Auk’s Place in History
The extinction of the Great Auk stands as a profound moment in the history of natural science and conservation. It became one of the most prominent and earliest documented examples of a species driven to extinction directly by human over-exploitation. The bird’s disappearance illustrated humanity’s destructive impact on biodiversity.
Its story played a significant role in raising early awareness about the consequences of unchecked human activities on wildlife populations. The Great Auk has since become an enduring symbol of human-caused extinction in museums and public consciousness. Its legacy continues to highlight the need to protect vulnerable species.