July 3 - Extinction of the Great Auk

[Jack_Burton]

Was reading wikipedia - what a way to end, an ignominious and horrible end. What was the point?

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, were killed there on 3 July 1844, with Jon Brandsson and Sigurdur Islefsson strangling the adults and Ketil Ketilsson smashing the egg with his boot.

[cranky_laowai]

@Jack Burton

What was the point?

For a fictionalized but related tale of the end of the dodo, see Gravity’s Rainbow, pp. 108-111. (Use “Search in this book” to find “Groov” and then start reading from p. 108.)

[TheGingerMan]

I blame the Icelanders!
Can’t really expect more from a gang of lazy Norsefolk who couldn’t be damned to sail further on to Vinland, and who spared no intellectual expense in choosing an inspiring name for their new domain.