The Great Auk

Formerly the largest member of the family Alcidae, the Great Auk once patrolled the waters of the North Atlantic not only living its life as a bird, but also acting as an important symbol in human culture until is demise on July 3rd, 1844.  Similar to its family members the Great Auk was known for its extraordinary swimming ability, but what made it stand out from the rest was its odd body proportions rendering it flightless.  Its wings coming in at less than six inches were surely a sacrifice for better abilities to be able to navigate the waters.  Its huge beak also supports its need to be able to pick and eat fish and crustaceans from the water.  Due to its habitat in the cold waters, the Great Auk was the largest bird in the order Charadriiformes, and had a thick layer of fat to keep it warm.  Every aspect of its body was well suited for its habitat as long as it stayed in the water; however, once it entered onto land, it was described as being very clumsy and almost helpless.
A typical Great Auk could be found swimming anywhere in the North Atlantic mainly residing north of Canada, Spain, and Great Britain, but they have also been spotted as far down in the waters of New Jersey.

Great Auk Distribution

Starting in early to mid-May, they would begin to gather along the base of cliffs to start their mating season.  Its method of reproduction is similar to its family members in the aspect they were monogamous, colonial nesters, and laid one egg to be incubated on bare rock.  The egg was also pear shaped,yellowish in color, and covered in white spots. The egg typically took about 40 days to hatch and the chick that emerged was precocial.  Great Auks exhibited a slow life history, and did not become sexually mature until they were four to seven years old.  Even though they might have been sexually mature a Great Auk did not reproduce if there was not ample food and resources.

Great Auk

Great Auk Egg

Many of its relatives that exhibit some of the exact same qualities of the Great Auk are still around today. Why would they still be around if they lived in the same habitat and went about their lives exactly how the Great Auk did.  It is true that the Great Auk could not fly, and a little ice age might have reduced their numbers, but the main reason that the Great Auk is extinct today is due to human interference.  Bones have been found around campsites as far back as 100,000 years that have shown that the Great Auk was hunted.  Its body fat was a good source of food for Native Americans, but they also served as an important symbol in their culture.  Paintings have been discovered showing the relationship between the two, and bones were fashioned into necklaces wasting no part of their kill.  Bones were also buried into grave sites; once 200 beaks were found at a grave site signaling what must have been a leader of a tribe.
The Great Auk itself was not only used for food.  Its eggs were also taken and made into pudding leading to another decline in numbers; the eggs were almost three times the size of other eggs in this family and contained a large yolk that was sought after by hunters to keep alive in the harsh climate.  Feathers were another important factor in the hunting of these birds.  Humans recognized the quality of its down, and began to hunt them in order to make pillows.

Great Auk Skeleton

Around the mid-16th century scientists began to realize the decline of the Great Auk, and the first protection was place upon it.  Despite several efforts to restrict hunting however, the numbers continued to decline and people ignored the warnings.  On July 3, 1844 the last two confirmed birds were killed off the coast by hunters which destroyed the last breeding attempt and rendered this species extinct.  The Auk, a scientific journal written by the American Ornithologist's Union was established in 1884 in its honor.

References

"The Last Great Auk." Â« Thoughtomics. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 June 2012. <http://www.lucasbrouwers.nl/blog/2011/03/the-last-great-auk/>.