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Great Auk
last update: Mar 24, 2009 11:46 AM
Latin name: Pinguinus impennis
Population: 0
Cites classified: Extinct
Where found: North Atlantic Ocean
Length: 60-80 cm
Weight: 5 kg
Eggs: The egg averaged 12.4cm in length, and were yellowish white to light ochre with a varying pattern of black, brown or greyish spots and lines which often congregated on the large end.
Feed on: fish, usually 12-20 cm in length
Predators: large marine mammals, birds of prey, and humans
Colour/Body: The flightless Great Auk was the largest of the auks. It had white lower- and glossy black upper feathers, with an area of white feathers on both sides of the head between the beak and each eye. The longest wing feathers were only 10 cm (3.9 in) long. The eyes had a reddish-brown iris, and the beak was black with white transverse grooves. Its feet and claws were black while the webbed skin between the toes was brown/black.
Road to Extinction:
The Great Auk was hunted on a significant scale for food, eggs, and down since at least the 8th century. Prior to that, hunting by local natives can be documented from Late Stone Age Scandinavia and Eastern North America, and from early 5th century Labrador where the bird only seems to have occurred as a straggler. The Little Ice Age may have reduced their numbers, but massive exploitation for their down drastically reduced the population. Specimens of the Great Auk and its eggs became collectible and highly prized, and collecting of the eggs contributed to the demise of the species. The last population lived on Geirfuglasker ("Great Auk Rock") off Iceland. This island was a volcanic rock surrounded by cliffs which made it inaccessible to humans, but in 1830 the rock submerged, and the birds moved to the nearby island Eldey which was accessible from a single side. The last pair, found incubating an egg, was killed there on 3 July 1844, with Jón Brandsson and Sigurður Ísleifsson strangling the adults and Ketill Ketilsson smashing the egg with his boot. However, a later claim of a live individual sighted in 1852 on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland has been accepted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Today, around 75 eggs of the Great Auk remain in museum collections, along with 24 complete skeletons and 81 mounted skins.
