The Great Auk: An Extinct Species

The Great Auk: An Extinct Species
The First Extinction in North America in Historical Times
(1) The Great Auk was the first species of bird to disappear
during historical times in North American. Its extinction was
not a natural one like the disappearance of saber-toothed tigers
or dinosaurs that once roamed parts of this continent too. The
Great Auk is lost forever because of human greed and a
complete disrespect for nature.
(2) The Great Auk was the only flightless bird in the Northern
Hemisphere and the only flightless bird known to Europeans
until the exploration of south Africa and Antarctica in the early
1600's.
Appearance
(3) The great auk was a large bird, approximately 5 kg in mass
and 70 cm in height. It had a black back and head. Because the
word “penguin” means “white patches in front of it eyes”, the great
auk was considered the original penguin. The auk’s bill was large
and black. Its stomach and breast were white. The white belly
protected the bird from predators swimming below it and the black
back protected it against predators flying overhead.
(4) The Great Auk was an excellent swimmer. It used its stubby
featherless wings to “fly” through the water. But unlike gannets,
which plunge into the sea while in flight, the auk dove from a
floating position on the ocean’s surface to pursue prey like herring
and caplin. On land, the auk was slow. Its waddle walk made it an
easy target for hunters.
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -1-

Distribution
(5) The Great Auk nested in large groups
called colonies. The female laid a single
pear-shaped creamy white egg on the bare
rock of some of the low lying islands that
dot the north Atlantic off the coast of
Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland and
Greenland. Since it was flightless, the
female had to lay its egg near sea level and
not on the high rock ledges in the cliffs like
many other seabirds. That too made it
vulnerable to hunters.
The Exploitation Begins
(6) Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the
Great Auk and its eggs were used as food by the
Beothuks, the now extinct native people of
Newfoundland. The Beothuks paddled their ocean
going canoes to the Funk Islands just off the
northeast coast of Newfoundland where the auk
lived in great numbers. They took only the birds
they needed, leaving the population healthy.
(7) The Europeans discovered the Great Auk in
the early 1500s. At first, they used the bird to
indicate the position of the Grand Banks, the rich
fishing grounds off the east coast of
Newfoundland. Later, they used the auk for food.
Fishermen and sailors alike discovered that the
birds were easy to catch. On trans-Atlantic
voyages, their ships would stop at the auk’s
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -2-

nesting islands and sailors would herd hundreds of them along a
plank to the ships’ decks. Some of the birds were killed and eaten
immediately. Some were killed and preserved in salt to be eaten
later. Sometimes the auks were kept alive in the ships’ hulls to
serve as fresh meat later in the voyages. The fact they were edible
contributed to auk’s extinction too.
Controlling The Slaughter
(8) Although the Great Auk was hunted relentlessly and in great
numbers from the beginning of 16th century, the effects of the
slaughter were not noticed until two hundred years later –– and
even then no serious efforts were made to protect them from
jeopardy. In 1775, the government of Nova Scotia asked Great
Britain to ban the killing of auks. This was done. Anyone caught
killing auks for feathers or taking their eggs for food was whipped in
public. Fishermen, however, were still allowed to use the bird as
bait and so the auks’ numbers continued to decline.
(9) Other large Great Auk
colonies in Iceland were
being raided for food, oil
and feathers too. The
Icelanders harvested the
birds in rotation. This
means they killed large
numbers of birds one year
and then left the colony
alone the next to enable
their numbers to increase.
Eventually, though, the
hunting pressure became
too great and Icelandic populations declined. Only when the birds
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -3

were extremely rare on both sides of the Atlantic, did the world
begin to recognize the plight of these great seabirds.
(10) Surprisingly, the reaction to the decline in the Great
Auk’s population caused additional problems for the bird.
Instead of protecting the auk and preventing the species from
being wiped-out, museums and nature collectors all over
Europe killed them for display specimens. In 1830, an auk
skin sold for $16, nearly equal to the average monthly wage
of a common worker at that time.
The Last Birds
(11) The final end to the Great Auk began in the early 19th
century. During a war between England and France around
1813, sailors eager to obtain fresh food once again harvested
auks from colonies in Iceland. One colony was an unfortunate
victim of nature. A volcano on a nesting island erupted and
then sank into the sea, wiping out its entire population of birds. A
bizarre event in Scotland in 1844 ended the auk there. A lone auk
on the Hebrides Islands off Scotland was blamed for causing a
severe storm. The local people put the bird on trial. A jury found the
auk guilty of witchcraft and stoned it to death. The saddest story
though belongs to the last known nesting pair. On June 3rd, 1844,
three men set out in search of auks sighted off Iceland. They found
a male, female and one egg. Greedy for the money the birds could
bring, they shot the two birds and crushed the egg. No auks were
ever seen again. They had become extinct.
(12) Many other species of animals around the world are
endangered because of overhunting. They are doomed to
extinction like the great auk if nothing is done to prevent this from
happening.
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -4

Visual Literacy: Using a Venn Diagram
Student Activities: The Great Auk
Study the picture of a penguin and the great auk, which was a penguin too. Create a
Venn diagram to compare the two birds.
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -5-

Was the Auk Really a Penguin? You Decide
Use the Venn diagram below and the images on the previous page to compare and contrast the great auk and a penguin.
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -6-

Comprehension Questions
Directions: Highlight the keywords in the question. Use the keywords to find the topic
containing the keywords. Locate the information to answer the question.
Write the answer in complete sentences and in your very best handwriting.
1. Why did the Great Auk become extinct?
2. What three characteristics did the great auk have that contributed to its
extinction?
3. How was the great auk important to sailors and fishermen?
4. Why did a ban on hunting great auks not save the species?
5. What steps did the Icelanders take to keep hunting the great auk and yet keep
the population of the colonies strong?
6. In what ways did the great auk’s colouration protect it from natural predators?
7. What is the purpose of the map on page two of the passage on the great auk?
8. Based on the Venn diagram activity, do you think the great auk was a penguin?
Why?
Just the Facts
1. Write five facts about the Great Auk you found the most interesting.
Thinking About What You Have Learned
1. There is an expression that goes like this: “Those that ignore their history and
doomed to repeat it?” What does this mean and how does it apply to the great
auk?
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -7-

Reading For Understanding
Cause and Effect
One thing happens that then causes something else to occur. This is what “cause and
effect means.” For example, if tripping over a branch is the cause, the effect is falling
down. Below are some cause and effect statements based on the passage on the great
auk. Complete the statement that is missing from each pair.
Cause Effect
there was a lack of fresh meat on early
sailing ships
sailors discovered the birds couldn’t fly
auk feathers made good hat decorations
the auk was declared a threatened
species
numbers of great auk began to decline
population on an island off Iceland
destroyed
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -8-

Backbone Puzzle: The Great Auk
1 r
2
3 i
4
5
6
7 m
8 c
9
10 o
11 i
12 e
13 k
14 i
1. At risk. (8)
2. Describes the walk of the great auk. (4)
3. Name of the nesting population. (5)
4. The seventeenth letter of the alphabet.
5. Welsh word meaning “white patch around eyes”. (3)
6. Number of eggs laid by a great auk female. (5)
7. Auks were collected to be used as these in museums. (10)
8. These individuals, working for museums, also caused the extinction of the auk. (10)
9. This area of the great auk was largely white. (3)
10. An animal that hunts another animal for food. (3)
11. Occurs when no individuals of a species exist. (1)
12. Birds with wings but do not fly. (2)
13. These native people hunted the auk and collected its eggs for food. (6)
14. One of the reasons often cited for extinction of a animal species. (12)
This french explorer first noticed the value of the great auk for sailors: ___________________________
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -9-

The Globe
The globe to the right shows two
hemispheres of the earth and well as the
imaginary line that separates them. Study
the globe and complete the following.
Jot down the information that completes the
following.
a. the two hemispheres pictured on the globe
_____________________________________________________________________
b. the line that separates the two hemispheres
_____________________________________________________________________
c. the continents that are completely above this line
_____________________________________________________________________
d. the continents that are present in both hemispheres
_____________________________________________________________________
e. the number of degrees from the equator to the north and south poles
_____________________________________________________________________
f. the number of degrees of the equator
_____________________________________________________________________
© Prepared by Jim Cornish, Gander, Newfoundland, 2003. -10-