The Demise of the Great Auk
The Great auk was a flightless bird almost 3 feet tall that used to live in the seas around Newfoundland. This bird had a similar life style and resemblance to penguins and is a good example of convergent evolution as it evolved from a different bird family than penguins. Great Auks were actually more closely related to murres, guillemots, and razorbills.
Seventy two miles east north east of Twillingate is a small rocky island called Funk Island. Thousands of Great Auks used to escape land predators by nesting there.
As early as the sixteenth century, towards the end of a long transatlantic journey, when provisions were running low, fresh meat was prized, and the ease with which auks could be picked off the slab was soon noted. Many explorers and fishing nations made trips to the Funks to acquire seabirds for food and oil for their lamps.
In 1578, 350 Spanish and French vessels and fifty English vessels were reported fishing nearby. Later settlers along the northeast coast of Newfoundland often made the short trip to the Funks to kill birds for food and lamp oil; they also used the feathers for pillows and mattresses and gathered the eggs for food.
By 1800 the great auk was probably extinct on Funk Island, and by 1844, in the world. A scientific expedition to Funk Island in 1887 discovered several iron kettles, rusted and broken, which were believed to have been used to scald the bodies of the great auks to make removal of the feathers easier. Since there were no trees on the island, the fires were fueled by the oily bodies of the birds themselves.
The scientific name for the Great Auk is Pinguinus impennis and they were known in Europe before penguins were discovered in the Antarctic.
Penguins got their name from sailors who knew of the Great Auk.