Why the Great Auks went Extinct?

Great Auk was a flightless bird almost 3 feet tall, and it weighed about 11 pounds. The species was commonly found in north Atlantic. It was an ocean feeder. During winter it had a black and white head. The feeding grounds ranged from Spain to United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and Coastlines of Canada. Great Auk was streamlined, fast and graceful in water but on land it was clumsy. It foraged on the north Atlantic waters on fish and crustaceans. The favorite fish was Atlantic Menhaden and Caplin. During summer millions of Great Auks bread in colonies where parents paired for life. Great Auk had breeding colonies on rocky remote islands. During summer Auks developed a white patch around the eyes. The pair laid a single egg on the rocks. The egg was almost 5 inches long, and 3 inches wide. The eggs showed variations in the egg markings. Prehistoric humans hunted great Auks for their flesh and eggs. By the year 1500 European sea explorers found the large colonies and did the same. By 1700 the Great Auk became the main focus of the hunters for the prized downs for making pillows and quilts. That lead to the frenzy of great Auk killing. By 1800 most of the Great Auks colonies were all gone due to massive hunting for meat, eggs, and feathers. As the great Auk Numbers plummeted their eggs and feathers were in big demand by museums and collectors. In 1844 the last two known great Auks were hunted by fishermen at Eldey Island near Iceland. There is a small statue of the great Auk to memorize the Extinct species. In 1884 American Ornithological Society started a peer reviewed Journal of Ornithology. It was named The Auk. They honored the memory of the great Auk by publishing Journals with Great Auk Pictures on the Front Page for more than a century. Timestamp 0:00-0:14 Intro 0:15-0:25 Distribution 0:26-0:41 Feeding and breeding behavior 0:42-1:06 Breeding colonies and eggs 1:07-1:33 Humans hunted the Great Auk for meat, eggs, and feathers 1:34-1:40 Most Great Auk colonies disappeared by 1800 1:41-1:49 Museums and Collectors played a role in Extinction 1:50-2:05 Last known Great Auks were killed at Eldey Island, Iceland 2:06-2:25 The Auk journal was named after the memory of the Great Auk 2:26-2:46 End Screen Attributions: The Image of Iceland Statue is attributed to Wikipedia commons: Reykholt, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons