How did the great auk become extinct?

The great auk (Pinguinus impennis), a flightless seabird belonging to the order Charadriiformes, was driven to extinction in the 1840s primarily due to human exploitation.12

These birds were utterly defenseless and nested in large, accessible colonies on rocky islands across the North Atlantic, making them easy targets for hunters. During the early 1800s, they were slaughtered in enormous numbers by sailors for food and bait, often being driven up planks and killed directly on ships. Additionally, the species faced significant pressure from the feather trade.132

The relentless hunting of these birds for their meat, bait, and feathers, combined with the collection of specimens for museums, led to their rapid decline. The last known pair was killed in June 1844 on Eldey Island, Iceland. It is a profound moral failure when human greed and unthinking exploitation lead to the permanent loss of a species, highlighting our ethical responsibility to protect the natural world from such destruction.123