The wingless auk could not fly at all, reached a height of 90 cm and were completely destroyed at the end of the 19th century. The last wingless auk on the British Isles was killed by three fishermen because they believed it to be a werewolf.
Let's remember how it happened …
The wingless auk (lat. Pinguinus impennis) is a large flightless bird of the auks family, which became extinct in the middle of the 19th century. She was the only modern member of the genus Pinguinus, which previously included the Atlantic auk. The wingless auk bred mainly on rocky, isolated islands, which were very rare in nature for large bird nesting sites. In search of food, flightless auk spent most of their time in the northern Atlantic Ocean, covering New England, parts of Spain, eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
In English, the great auk is called "Great Auk". The bird really was very large and weighed an average of about 5 kilograms. The wingless auk lived on uninhabited rocky islands and were very rare in the 18th century.
As the largest member of the auk family, the auk reached 75 to 85 cm (30 to 33 inches) in length and weighs about 5 kg (11 lb). The massive, hooked beak with depressions on its surface and the back of the wingless auk were black, while the rest of the body was white. A notable feature of the bird's plumage was the alternation of supraocular white spots and stripes during the winter and summer periods. In summer, the bird had white spots, and in winter - wide stripes around the eyes. Despite its short 15 cm (5.9 in) wings, the flightless auk swam excellently in the water and hunted successfully. The wingless auk ate a variety of fish, including American herring and capelin, as well as crustaceans. Despite the fact that the wingless auk swam perfectly in the water,on land it was quite awkward. The main threats to her were humans, killer whales, white-tailed eagles and polar bears.
The wingless auk has been known to humans for over 100,000 years. She was the most important source of food and a symbol of many Indian cultures that existed with her. Many people of ancient maritime cultures were buried along with the remains of the great auk. In one such burial, more than 200 auk's beaks were found, presumably decorating the cloak of an ancient man.
The wingless auk could not fly at all. And on land they moved, heavily waddling from side to side. These were the most clumsy and clumsy birds of the coastal strip, which became easy prey for the more impetuous birds that lived on the islands. In case of danger, the auk could only run slowly, taking short steps. At the same time, the waters of the ocean turned out to be a safe place for them, where they rushed, fleeing from enemies, from a height of 4 - 4.5 m.
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Once in the water, wingless auk became fast and agile. And there was no trace of the slowness that was characteristic of them when they were on land. These birds could dive and swim quickly, thus covering considerable distances. Old-timers said that in such cases it was impossible to catch up with the auk, even on a rowboat. The auk was helped to swim well by short but strong wings, which were used by the bird under water as fins. Scientists suggest that auk once made long journeys on water.
Archaeologists and paleontologists claim that auk has long been known to humans. Even 18 thousand years ago, people began to hunt for these coastal birds. Judging by the finds, then wingless auk inhabited many shores of the Atlantic Ocean, starting from the coast of North America and ending with the British Isles, as well as the islands of Scandinavia and Spain. In historical time, auk was also quite widespread on Earth. They are known to have inhabited the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Labrador.
The destruction of the wingless auk began in the spring of 1534. It was then that the ship of the famous traveler Jacques Cartier approached the shores of Funk Island. The sailors from the ship saw many birds that could become easy prey for hungry sailors. Then the Europeans took out from the island two boats, fully loaded with dead birds. This was only the beginning of the story of the extinction of the bird species.
At the beginning of the next 17th century, the Englishman Richard Whitbourne visited Funk Island. Later he wrote: "… The sailors drive these birds on the board into the boat at once by a hundred, as if the Lord created this miserable creature so simple-minded that it would serve man as an excellent reinforcement of his strength …" However, judging by historical sources, not Europeans were the main culprits of death wingless auk. It became known that long before Cartier arrived at Funk Island, the population began to decline sharply. At that time, the aforementioned island was home to the largest auk colony on the planet.
The most rapid decline in the number of wingless auk occurred in the period from 1732 to 1760. The sailors of whaling and fishing vessels passing by Funk Island filled the holds with carcasses of dead birds. After the development and settlement, the settlers of the New World needed a pen. Its source was the same wingless auk that lived on the islands located near North America. At the beginning of the 19th century, not a single auk remained on Funk Island.
The last habitat for waterfowl was the Geierfuglasker cliff, located off the coast of Iceland. The cliffs were high and unapproachable. Many auk hunters attempting to climb the cliff often fell into the water and drowned. Such cases were not uncommon, and therefore at that time there were few people who wanted to go to the island to get birds. But at the beginning of the 19th century, American sailors were able to conquer the cliff. As a result, the number. auk has decreased even more.
And in 1830, due to geological changes, the Geierfuglasker cliff sank to the ocean floor. The birds that lived there were forced to move to the neighboring island of Eldie Rock. At this point, man could not miss the opportunity to use the gifts of nature.
At first, they hunted for auk for the fluff, which they stuffed on pillows. At the end of the 18th century, the authorities banned the fishing of wingless auk, but the local population continued to exterminate them - many museums around the world wanted to get a stuffed animal of this rare bird.
Due to the hunting of birds for its meat, fluff and use as bait, the number of the Great Auk had begun to decline significantly by the middle of the 16th century. Realizing that the great auk was on the verge of extinction, scientists decided to include it in the list of protected birds, but this was not enough to save the species. The growing rarity of the bird has increased the already strong interest of European museums and private collectors in obtaining stuffed animals and eggs, thereby ruining the last attempt to preserve the wingless auk.
The last auk seen on the British Isles was killed by three Scots in 1844. They caught the bird and tied it up to take it back to their village. But a heavy storm began and the superstitious Scots thought that the unusual bird was a werewolf who wants to drown their boat. Therefore, the auk was quickly beaten with a stick.
And the last pair of auk that was seen in Iceland was killed solely in order to sell their skins to zoological museums. By the way, now in the museums of the world there are 75 stuffed animals of the Big Chistik, 75 eggs and 24 full skeletons (two stuffed animals are kept in Russia: one in the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, and the other in the Darwin Museum in Moscow.): These 174 birds could give life to new generations of auks. But for museum workers, a stuffed animal of an endangered species turned out to be more valuable than the endangered species itself.
In 1971, the Icelandic Museum of National History bought an effigy of a wingless auk at auction. The acquisition cost was £ 9,000 and entered the Guinness Book of Records as the highest price for a stuffed bird.
This is how the wingless auk disappeared - a species of birds that existed on the planet for tens of thousands of years. The wingless auk was the first European and American bird to be completely exterminated by humans.
