Enter the Animal Hall of Shame: What happened to the Passenger Pigeon? Enter the Animal Hall of Shame.
Here at the Platypus, we honour the traditions and beliefs of the animal kingdom. Namely that all animal life should be free from the threat of extinction. Extinction is the one, true greatest evil of all. There is no greater evil (except maybe Cats). So here, in the Animal Hall of Shame we honour those animals whose lives have been snuffed out by the Homo Sh*tpiens.
What was a Passenger Pigeon?
The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is an extinct species of Pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word passager, meaning “passing by”, due to the migratory habits of the species. It was once found in huge numbers in North America. Records tell of passing flocks that darkened the skies for several days at a time. The species may have peaked at five billion individuals. A more conservative estimate is three billion.
What did the Passenger Pigeon eat?
The mainstays of the Passenger Pigeon’s diet were beechnuts, acorns, chestnuts, seeds, and berries found in the forests. Worms and insects supplemented the diet in spring and summer.
What Happened to the Passenger Pigeon?
What happened to the Passenger Pigeon?
On September 1, 1914, the last known passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoo. She was roughly 29 years old, with a palsy that made her tremble. Not once in her life had she laid a fertile egg. Thanks to humans penchant for relentless killing combined with large-scale habitat destruction, these iconic birds’ population crashed from billions to zero in just fifty years.
Why did the Passenger Pigeon go extinct?
People ate passenger pigeons in huge amounts, but they were also killed because they were perceived as a threat to agriculture. As Europeans migrated across North America, they thinned out and eliminated the large forests that the pigeons depended on.