On this day, 181 years ago, July 3, 1844 (May 18, 1844 in the lunar calendar), the auk became extinct. The auk, also known as the great petrel, is sometimes called the Arctic great penguin because of its similarity to a penguin in appearance. It is a flightless bird that was once widely found on islands around the Atlantic Ocean, but it was extinct due to massive human hunting. The auk is an aquatic bird that can use its wings to swim underwater. Based on bone studies of the remaining auks on Funk Island and biological deductions based on their morphology, their diet may be mainly fish in size of 12 to 20 centimeters, but occasionally they prey on larger fish, even more than half their body length. Among them, Atlantic herring and Capelin may be particularly popular with auks. On land, auks walk slowly, and sometimes use their wings to help on some undulating ground. Auks have few natural enemies, mainly large marine mammals and some raptors, and they are inherently not afraid of humans. Because of their various characteristics such as inability to fly, slow walking, and not being afraid of humans, they were massacred by humans for the purpose of obtaining meat, eggs and feathers. In addition, some were also killed as museum specimens and private collections. Auks lay an egg every year. They do not make nests, only lay them on the open ground and hatch in June. The protein color is yellow, mixed with black-gray spots and stripes, and often gathers clearly at the larger end. The main reason for the extinction of auks is human slaughter. In Scandinavia and eastern North America, records of auk slaughtering date back to the Paleolithic era, and in Labrador, Canada, records of auk slaughtering date back to the fifth century AD. In addition, a piece of clothing made of the fur of 200 auks was also found among the funerary objects of a tomb in Newfoundland dating to 2000 BC. Despite this, before the 8th century AD, humans 'slaughter of auks did not pose a major threat to the survival of the entire species. The Little Ice Age that began in the 15th century posed a certain threat to the survival of the auk, but the ultimate extinction of the auk was caused by arbitrary hunting by humans and extensive development of its habitat. Specimens of the auk and auk eggs have also become valuable collections. On July 3, 1844, the last pair of auks were killed while incubating their eggs on Eldey, near Iceland. Although it was later claimed that the auk was found again on Newfoundland in 1852, it was not confirmed. So far, a total of 75 auk skins and 75 auk eggs have been stored in museums around the country. Thousands of auk bones exist, but only a few have complete skeletons. Auk-extinct in 1844 Comments: A sad moment