Extinct Arctic Animals

"The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the composer; but when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again."
-- William Beebe, 1906

The loss of any species at human hands is tragic, all the more so in cases like those of the great auk and eskimo curlew – two Arctic birds that were destroyed by excessive hunting. Both these birds had distinct biological characteristics that made them unique and endearing.

The great auk was the first bird ever to hold the title of penguin. Its flightless, black and white body was distinctive among Canadian animals. Yet it was rounded up by the thousands off the north Atlantic and eastern Arctic islands for use as food and for its feathers. The slaughter continued for generations, and when the auk's impending demise became common knowledge, the reaction was immediate – men rushed to kill the remaining birds, aware of their value to collectors.

The Eskimo curlew, a plump, friendly bird, once migrated in flocks of thousands from South America to the Arctic every year. Unlike the auk, curlews were not killed in their arctic breeding grounds. Instead, they were shot down en route, while stopping to rest and feed on the prairies and along the coastlines of North America. In a span of less than a century, one of the most common birds on the continent was reduced to scarcity. Today, the Eskimo curlew is likely extinct – the last individual was seen in Argentina more than a decade ago.

More information on the great auk and the Eskimo curlew can be found in the Birds section.

Are other Arctic animals in danger of extinction?
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Have any endangered Arctic species rebounded and escaped extinction?
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