Great Auk - The Last Chapter

Great Auk Sculpture

Great Auk

I recently visited Fogo Island off the north coast of Newfoundland, east of Twillingate.  The main purpose of my visit was to see the recent tribute placed there to the Great Auk.  

The Great Auk lived in the North Atlantic for hundreds of thousands of years and nested in huge numbers off our north coasts.  It was a flightless bird which swam huge distances from nesting grounds in the North Atlantic to southerly areas like Cape Cod and Spain in winter only to return again in the spring.  It fed on fish and invertebrates and hauled itself out of the water much like penguins do today.  It was a large bird, measuring 75 to 85 cm (30 to 33 inches) long and weighted 4 to 5 kg (11 lbs).

Joe Batt's Arm Rocky Coast

The tribute to the Great Auk is mounted on heavy granite rock polished by glaciers and the North Atlantic weather at Joe Batt's Arm on Fogo Island.  The hike out to the sculpture is 3.5 kilometres each way on a marked path over a very rocky terrain to Joe Batt's Point.  The sculpture is bolted to solid rock right on the point.

Trail to Great Auk Sculpture

Our hike out to the sculpture seemed very long and we wondered if we had missed it until finally we came upon the sign shown above.  The sculpture was a short climb from there.  The photo below shows what I saw as I mounted the last huge rocky mass that made up the end of Joe Batt's Point.

Joe Batt's Point Showing Great Auk Sculpture

The sculpture looked alone as I climbed over the rocks.  Things were very quiet there, only the sounds of ocean waves and few distant gulls.  That was a far cry from the deep croaks of the Great Auks that once lived there by the thousands.  There was a shallow beach immediately east of the sculpture which would have been inhabited by the auks in past times.  See below for the exact area where auks once sunned themselves after making a landing.

Great Auk Landing Area East of Joe Batt's Point

The Great Auk was officially declared extinct in 1860.  The last official sightings were in 1844 in Iceland and one sighted off the Grand Banks in 1852.  Since then the North Atlantic coasts have been sickeningly missing the deep croak of the millions of Great Auks that once lived here. 

The Great Auk was used by early humans for food and oil for heat and light.  In early times we lived in harmony.  Then for two centuries humankind in their greed slaughtered millions of them, driving them into extinction.  The northern coast of Newfoundland was one place ships from Europe gathered to conduct the slaughter.  Funk Island, 70 miles east of Fogo Island was a chief slaughter location.  It even got its name from the stench caused by the slaughter.  The name of the island is a sad reminder of humanity's folly.  Humankind alone is responsible for the extinction of this species!  There have been lots of feed and ample breeding grounds for this species.  It would still be here sitting on the rocks off Joe Batt's Point if it weren't for mankind and his greed.  

Great Auk Sculpture

The Great Auk sculpture is very well done.  It was sculpted by Todd McGrain and erected in 2010.  It is made of bronze and stands about six feet tall (a little less than 2 metres).  It is only feet from the deep Atlantic waters.  It is facing east for a reason.  Todd McGrain made two of these sculptures and the other one has been placed off the west coast of Iceland.  The Newfoundland sculpture is facing east and the Iceland sculpture is facing west.  They are both looking out to sea towards one another looking for their kind.  It is a beautiful but sad reminder to what has happened to this species.  

Great Auk Sculpture Showing the Flightless Wing

The slaughter of the Great Auk species was so dramatic and so ugly that it has become a symbol of humanity's stupidity.  The only good that has come out of it is that it was for this species that the first law was made to protect wildlife.  That was in England in 1794.  It has taken us a long time to smarten up (and there has been an awful trail of blunders along the way).  Funk Island was the largest and last known colony of the Great Auk.  We can rightfully claim the Great Auk as our own.  We took part in its demise but we can learn from our mistakes.  The biggest problem with wildlife protection is humanity and his ability to change the environment.  We must change our ways or we will execute our own suicide.  The Great Auk has taught us that. 

The photo below shows the Great Auk looking east for his mate and family.  For more  extensive  information on the Great Auk please see other posts on this blog.

Great Auk Watching For His Family