The last pair of great auks is killed.

The Great Auk was a large, flightless bird that once lived along the rocky coasts of the North Atlantic. Standing nearly three feet tall, it had black-and-white feathers, a heavy hooked beak, and small wings that were useful for swimming but not for flight. Great auks were excellent divers and spent much of their lives in the ocean, feeding mainly on fish. They gathered in huge colonies on isolated islands in places such as Iceland, Greenland, and eastern Canada, where they nested and raised their young.

Humans hunted the great auk for centuries because of its meat, feathers, and oil. Sailors and fishermen often killed the birds in large numbers since they were easy to catch and unable to escape by flying away. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, demand for feathers increased greatly because they were used in pillows and clothing. As hunting intensified, great auk populations rapidly declined. Their breeding grounds were also disturbed by human activity, making it difficult for the species to recover.

The extinction of the great auk is considered one of the earliest modern examples of human-caused extinction. The last known pair was killed in Iceland in 1844, marking the end of the species forever. Today, the great auk serves as an important symbol in conservation history, reminding people of the dangers of overhunting and environmental destruction. Scientists, historians, and conservationists continue to study the bird to better understand how human actions can affect wildlife populations.