One hundred and two years ago - at
1 p.m. on Sept. 1 to be exact - someone walked past the Cincinnati Zoo bird
cage and saw Martha on the cage floor, drumsticks up.
Martha died of old age at 29. She
was the last living passenger pigeon, North America’s most abundant bird species,
once numbering three to five billion.
Early European settlers described
flocks of passenger pigeons so large they blacked out the sun. When they
roosted in trees for the night, branches often snapped under the weight of
their numbers.
Martha’s passing confirmed the
species extinction and helped to bring about another important event two years
later. On Aug. 16, 1916, 100 years ago this week, Canada and the United States
signed the Migratory Bird Convention in which both countries agreed to uniform
systems of protecting migratory birds.
The agreement was aimed at
stopping the “indiscriminate slaughter” of the billions of birds that made their remarkable journeys north in
the spring, and south in the autumn.
Indeed, the slaughter had been
indiscriminate. Ducks, geese, pigeons and others were shot by the thousands and
shipped in barrels to markets and restaurants in big cities such as Toronto,
New York and Chicago. Thousands upon thousands were packed in crates destined
for factories where their feathers were used in fashionable clothing.
There is one story of one million
bobolinks and rails killed in one month near Philadelphia to provide feathers
for women’s hats.
Until late in the 1800s it seemed
impossible that North America’s huge numbers of birds could become extinct or
see their populations dramatically reduced. As the 20th century
approached, however, people began to realize what was happening.
Organized hunt clubs were diligent
in recording kills in club registers. Entries from the register of the Winous Point Club near Port Clinton, Ohio show what was happening.
Year Canvasbacks Mallards Blue-winged Teal
1880 665 1,319 2,110
1885 237 943 1,019
1890 697 394 603
The migratory bird convention brought some
sanity into a society that believed
wildlife resources were limitless and existed solely for human
satisfaction. It led to prohibition of hunting non-game birds, closed seasons
for hunting game birds, limits on the length of hunting seasons and bans on the
sale of any birds, eggs or nests.
The convention could not bring back the Marthas
that once blackened the skies. It was a start, however, to changing attitudes
about wildlife and slowed the possibility of other extinctions.
Extinction still threatens many species today.
The latest North American Bird Conservation Initiative report notes that
without significant conservation action 37 per cent of our bird species are at
risk of extinction.
Nearly 20 per cent of wetland birds are on a
Watch List indicating extinction concerns. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
says wetland losses have increased 140 per cent since 2004.
Habitat loss and climate change have replaced
uncontrolled harvesting as the biggest threats to birds. Both, of course, are
the result of a soaring human population.
Bird
Life International reports that 150 bird species are facing world extinction. Also,
it lists 197 species as critically endangered.
Populations
of common birds seen in urban areas also are decreasing. Various bird
organizations have reported declines in common species once considered
widespread. Bird surveys have reported that some common species have lost more
than half of their populations over the past 40 years.
Declining
numbers of birds show that diversity of life on our planet is shrinking. Earth
continues to fall behind in the struggle to regenerate from the beatings we
humans give it.
Three-quarters
of the world’s fisheries now are fully or over exploited. (You probably already
figured that out if you bought those mushy farm-raised trout that have been
raised on pellets).
More
than 350 million people do not have guaranteed clean water to drink every day.
(And, if you think that’s just a far-off problem, read up on the roughly 100
Canadian First Nation communities that are without potable water).
So
all this is not just about the birds. There is a good chance that sometime off
in the future it won’t be just Martha
lying drumsticks up in her house. It will be humankind.
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