The Great Auks went extinct due to human orchestrated exploitation, finds study

As per a scientific study, human beings have been blamed as the sole reason that the Great Auks went extinct. It was said that the Great Auks were never threatened with extinction before human invasion. According to the study, extensive hunting activities by humans was one of the major factors that could have led to the extinction of the flightless birds. The study also talked about how species also exist in large numbers can be affected by human exploitation.

Human orchestrated exploitation

The person heading the study, Jessica Thomas, stated that despite a lot of evidence showcasing human exploitation, it cannot be tagged as the sole reason for the extinction of other species or if some environmental changes were responsible.

According to reports, a series of studies was carried out on the genetic data that was available alongside other tests to determine the reasons for the extinction of the flightless birds. The team working on the research used mitochondrial genome sequencing to build the birds' population structure and dynamics and it was then they reached the conclusion that auks did not face the threat of extinction prior to human invasion.

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Contradicting statement

A senior author Thomas Gilbert said that the study did not provide conclusive evidence that human beings were solely responsible for the extinction of the Great Auks. Another person working on the study, Gary Carvalho, the findings from the study helped show that exploitation of natural resources on a natural level had the potential to drive a genetically and wide-ranging species towards extinction within a short period of time.

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The flightless birds

According to reports, Great Auks were once found across the North Atlantic with an abundant population on the coasts of Iceland, Scotland and Scandinavia. The flightless birds were hunted for meat and eggs but their level of poaching intensified in 1500 AD by seamen belonging to Europe who had started visiting the populated grounds housing these birds. The report further revealed that the increase in demand for their feathers in the 1700s further led to their decline.

Over the past many decades, human orchestrated exploitations had played a very big role in the extinction of a number of animal and bird species in different parts of the world. For example- the Barbary lion found in the middle east and the Quagga in Africa.

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(With inputs from agencies)