Middle/High School  

Going, Going, Gone!  Did you know that there used to be a bird called the “penguin of the north?” Did you know that you were once able to see wild parrots in the Mississippi River Valley? Would you believe that there used to be flocks of birds so large they were said to block out the sun? Have you ever heard the saying “dead as a dodo?”

Believe it or not, these sayings describe four species of birds that used to exist on our planet. The great auk was also called the penguin of the north; the Carolina parakeet lived throughout the southern U.S.; the passenger pigeon once traveled in flocks of a billion or more birds, and the dodo once lived on the island of Mauritius. Unfortunately, they are all now extinct.

Animals go extinct for a variety of reasons. Some, like the dinosaurs, go extinct naturally due to changes in their environment. However, within the last several thousand years, humans have begun causing unnatural extinctions – both intentionally and unintentionally. Species that are not yet extinct, but could become extinct without intervention, are said to be endangered.

Discussion
The National Aviary houses a number of birds that are threatened or endangered in the wild. Although the stories of the extinct species cannot be changed, there is still hope for the endangered animals in zoos today. Compare and contrast the stories of five famously extinct species of birds and five threatened or endangered species found at the National Aviary:



What caused these birds to go extinct or become endangered? Historically, many birds were hunted to extinction for food or for sport. Are there new threats to birds now? What can we do to prevent the endangered species from becoming extinct?

Extensions

1. Write a short story or illustrate what life would be like with passenger pigeons or Carolina parakeets in your backyard.

2. Choose any animal in our world and write a scenario where that animal becomes extinct. How does this affect the rest of the world? What other animals, plants, and people need the “extinct” species?