Great Auk "Pinguinus impennis"
The last two were taken at Eldey on 4 June 1844 when three Icelandic sailors, Sigurður Ísleifsson, Ketill Ketilsson and Jón Brandsson, were asked to collect a few specimens for the Danish natural history collector, Carl Siemsen. Jón Brandsson and Sigurður Ísleifsson were each quick to find and kill a bird but Ketill returned empty handed, as the two birds killed were the last ones, and that was the end of the story for this penguin of the North. This sad story of the fate of the great auk proves that uncontrolled hunting can wipe out a species in a relatively short space of time.
It is worth noting that the Icelandic Institute of Natural History has a stuffed great auk that was bought at a Sothebys auction in London in 1971. There are only 80 such specimens in the world.
Translated by Paul Richardson.
Great Auk "Pinguinus impennis"
The last two were taken at Eldey on 4 June 1844 when three Icelandic sailors, Sigurður Ísleifsson, Ketill Ketilsson and Jón Brandsson, were asked to collect a few specimens for the Danish natural history collector, Carl Siemsen. Jón Brandsson and Sigurður Ísleifsson were each quick to find and kill a bird but Ketill returned empty handed, as the two birds killed were the last ones, and that was the end of the story for this penguin of the North. This sad story of the fate of the great auk proves that uncontrolled hunting can wipe out a species in a relatively short space of time.
It is worth noting that the Icelandic Institute of Natural History has a stuffed great auk that was bought at a Sothebys auction in London in 1971. There are only 80 such specimens in the world.
Translated by Paul Richardson.