100 Anniversary of Passenger Pigeon becoming Extinct

[highnote]

I wish I could have seen the flocks of Passenger Pigeons that had been reported back in the 1800s. They were said to be 100 miles long and 25 miles wide and sometimes it took 3 days for the flocks to pass overhead.

Due to habitat destruction and hunting they were unable to reproduce quickly enough. There is also a theory that lyme disease became widespread due to their extinction. Deer mice and Passenger Pigeons both fed on acorns. As the pigeons died out the deer mice population increased. Deer mice host lyme disease. Makes sense.

Interesting newspaper accounts of Passenger Pigeons can be found at this link:

http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/wmh/id/27694

[TJDave]

I wish I could have seen the flocks of Passenger Pigeons that had been reported back in the 1800s. They were said to be 100 miles long and 25 miles wide and sometimes it took 3 days for the flocks to pass overhead.

I miss the poop.


So if Sunday you're free,
Why don't you come with me,
And we'll poison the pigeons in the park.
And maybe we'll do
In a squirrel or two,
While we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment.
Except for the few we take home to experiment.
My pulse will be quickenin'
With each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon.
It just takes a smidgin!
To poison a pigeon in the park.

T Lehrer

[GameTheory]

We really did a number on the wild animals in the 19th century. The passenger pigeon was once the most numerous bird in North America, hunted to extinction. It is amazing and amazingly sad. Almost killed off the buffalo too, narrowly avoided that one...

[classhandicapper]

From wiki

Potential de-extinction

Some have suggested cloning the passenger pigeon in the future.[104][105] De-extinction efforts are now underway to revive the species by extracting DNA fragments from preserved specimens, and later, using band-tailed pigeons as surrogate parents.[106] A significant challenge to an effective de-extinction effort is the fact that the passenger pigeon was a very social bird known to form flocks of millions. When their numbers dwindled to a few thousand, the birds stopped breeding; it is likely that more than a few thousand birds would have to be created in order for a de-extinction effort to be successful. Also, the pigeons that raised them would be a different species, with differing mothering techniques.[107]

[Overlay]

I didn't read the linked article to see if it was mentioned or not, but, when I was in grade school in Cincinnati in the 1960's, every student learned that the last passenger pigeon died at the Cincinnati Zoo.

[Tom]

How big were they that you could ride on them???

[RunForTheRoses]

Very interesting, did not know about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon
similar to this extinction, that is we like to think things have been around forever:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon

[OntheRail]

2GuI_KpQqWM
If that don't work click here...
http://youtu.be/2GuI_KpQqWM

[PaceAdvantage]

If that don't work click here...
http://youtu.be/2GuI_KpQqWMYou were close...just leave off the "v=" next time, and it will work.

[highnote]

It was said that when they nested there were so many of them that there would be 2 inches of bird droppings on the ground. They would destroy a farmer's crop and he would sometimes replant if there was time enough in the season. If not, then he was out of luck. Hunters would shoot a shotgun into a flock as fast as they could reload, often having to pause to let their barrel cool. They would kill thousands in a day. They would even throw clubs into the flocks and would be sure to knock a couple out of the sky.

The pigeons only laid one egg per year. If the female was killed then the offspring would not survive. Also, the chicks were collected from nests because they were considered a delicacy. Their natural defense was having large numbers in their flock. So, in time, they could not reproduce fast enough.

It was said that the last living Passenger Pigeon living in the wild was killed by a 10 year old boy in Ohio with a bb gun. The last living one in captivity died at the Cincinnati zoo.

I miss the poop.


So if Sunday you're free,
Why don't you come with me,
And we'll poison the pigeons in the park.
And maybe we'll do
In a squirrel or two,
While we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment.
Except for the few we take home to experiment.
My pulse will be quickenin'
With each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon.
It just takes a smidgin!
To poison a pigeon in the park.

T Lehrer