Papa Westray Great Auk

The great auk is one of the most powerful symbols of the damage humans can cause. This male from Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands was taken in 1813 and is the only British specimen in existence. It is one of the last pair of the great auks to attempt to breed in Britain — its female and her egg had been destroyed the year before. The penguin-like bird is now extinct, not because of habitat loss, but rather intense human exploitation. Huge colonies of this flightless bird once gathered in the summer on rocky islands off eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland. The colonies were a spectacle, but made easy killing grounds for hunters. The birds were slaughtered in huge numbers over hundreds of years, killed for their meat and eggs, but also their feathers which were used to stuff mattresses. By 1800, the auks were so rare collectors paid huge sums to own just a single egg or skin. The last known breeding pair of great auks was killed by hunters on Eldey island, off Iceland, in 1844. Their single egg was smashed.
 
Treasures of the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum, London
2010