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From a lonely tortoise to a butterfly with a royal namesake, Megan Shersby tells the sad and surprising stories behind nine remarkable creatures that have been driven out of existence.
Great auk, flightless seabird extinct since 1844. It belonged to the family Alcidae (order Charadriiformes) and bred in colonies on rocky islands off North Atlantic coasts. Utterly defenseless, great auks were killed by rapacious hunters for food and bait. The nearest living relatives are the razor-billed auks.
More dead birds have been spotted along Newfoundland's northeast coast, and populations on the Avalon Peninsula have taken a hit.
Great auk, (Pinguinus impennis), also called garefowl, flightless seabird extinct since 1844. Great auks belonged to the family Alcidae (order Charadriiformes). They bred in colonies on rocky islands off North Atlantic coasts (St. Kilda, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Funk Island off Newfoundland); subfossil remains have been found as far south as Florida, Spain, and Italy. The body of the great auk was approximately 75 cm (30 inches) long; the wings, which were used in swimming underwater, were less than 15 cm long. The large black bill bore eight or more transverse grooves. The bird stood...
This Encyclopedia Britannica list features 6 animals that were hunted into extinction for food.