What if you knew the precise time of death of the last dinosaur? Or of the last Dodo Bird or Saber-Tooth Tiger? Well, we are in possession of just such a colossal piece of information about the extinct Passenger Pigeon, once the most abundant bird of North America. Martha, the last known Passenger Pigeon died at 1 PM on September 1, 1914 at Cincinnati Zoological Garden.
The Pember Museum has prepared a special exhibit to commemorate the Passenger Pigeon on the one-hundredth anniversary of its extinction. One of only a handful of museums in possession of Passenger Pigeon specimens, The Pember has three birds (one on loan to another museum) and six Passenger Pigeon eggs in its collection.
“From billions to zero, the extinction is a cautionary tale that needs to be told,” asserts Bernie Hoffman, the Pember Museum of Natural History’s educator.
“All our specimens will be on display, along with graphics that chronicle human involvement in the extinction.”
There were voices who warned over a hundred years ago that enthusiastic slaughter of the passenger pigeon would lead to its demise, but this notion was not taken seriously. Even conservationists could not counter the wide-spread opinion that since these birds existed in the billions, nothing could endanger their numbers. It took until 1973 for the Endangered Species Act to become law.
The Passenger Pigeon must not be confused with the ordinary rock pigeon, or the carrier pigeon (also a rock pigeon). The rock pigeon is a European import, while Passenger Pigeons lived on this continent prior to Native Americans. It had a sleeker appearance, a longer neck, and was more colorful, than the city-dwelling rock pigeon. They migrated in flocks that have been estimated in the billions – blackening the skies for hours to days as they passed overhead. A diet of nuts and acorns also made survival difficult when settlers began clearing the land of trees and forests to serve as farmland. But their numbers dwindled most prodigiously as a result of unrestrained hunting. Within forty years the Passenger Pigeon was hunted to extinction.
The extinction did awaken public interest and brought about a conservation movement. This resulted in new laws and practices that protected other species – including the American bison, which nearly suffered the same fate.
The Pember Museum – not normally open on Mondays or holidays, will be open on Labor Day, Monday, September 1, from 10 – 3 to mark this special event. “Parents and teachers are especially encouraged to come with their children and students, to learn about this gregarious bird, its habits, appearance, and abrupt demise,” declares Hoffman. The exhibit will run through the fall.
For more information, contact the Pember Museum at 518-642-1515.