The great auk in Norway: From common to locally extinct

Abstract

A total of 477 bones of the great auk (Pinguinus impennis) from 53 localities and 55 periods in Norway are studied. All but two, are archaeological sites from the Holocene, mainly from 6000–2000 cal years bp. The two non‐anthropogenic sites date to the Ice Age: probably 36,000–34,500 and 14,690–12,890 years bp. The bones are mainly unburned and well preserved but fractured. Except for the open‐air sites in northern Norway, the bones are mainly from rock‐shelters and caves. In combining archive data, chronological information, and morphometrical studies, we suggest the great auk disappeared from the most southern part of Norway (and Sweden and Denmark) prior to 4000 years bp: a decline in distribution 2000 years ago: It became absent from the Norwegian coast 1000 years ago. Data suggest that it was distributed on the coast and in the fjord systems in winter and early spring. The presence of bones of juveniles/subadults indicates that it was also distributed in northern Norway in the autumn. To evaluate possible size differences, in time and space, nine bone elements have been measured according to standard recommendations. Multiple imputation was used to handle missing data before any statistical analysis. Analyses indicate that bones from Nordland are larger than from the rest of the country, while bones from the northernmost sites are smaller. At some localities, size differences, especially in total length of the bones, are found. It has not been verified if this is due to individual variation or sexual differences. The great auk became extinct in the 19th century. The study supports the theory that human predation at breeding sites was the main cause of its extinction.

Seabirds from the poles: microplastics pollution sentinels

“…The absence of guano analysis on Laridae may be due to the low number of studies (n = 1) considering this species. It is also important to note that Arctic lands have a long history of indigenous peoples before and European colonizers after that were used to hunting seabirds (Winter et al, 2023); the destiny of the now-extinct Pinguinus impennis is emblematic of this (Hufthammer and Hufthammer, 2023). We hypothesize that this historical and cultural background alongside the relatively difficultto-find seabird pellets (Barrett et al, 2007) has led to the use of hunting techniques to analyze MP ingestion in the Arctic rather than less invasive approaches.…”

Songs of the past ‐ papers of the 10th ICAZ Bird Working Group Meeting

“…Several papers in this volume focus on extinct and extirpated species. Hufthammer and Hufthammer (2023) provide the first overview of giant auk ( Pinguinus impennis ) remains from Norway and show that this species was already in decline during the Holocene. Albarella et al (2023) review the Holocene evidence for the presence of Eagle Owls ( Bubo bubo ) in Britain and its status as a native species.…”

What about Exotic Species? Significance of Remains of Strange and Alien Animals in the Baltic Sea Region, Focusing on the Period from the Viking Age to High Medieval Times (800–1300 CE)

“…In historic times, the great auk could be found around the North Atlantic [42], and its eastern range touched the Baltic Sea area in southern Norway, western Sweden, and Denmark. However, as a breeding bird, the species disappeared here 4000 years ago [43]. At the Norwegian site of Kobbehelleren near Bergen, a directly dated specimen proves the presence of at least one great auk at about 1018 CE [40:7], while from southwestern Sweden, a reliable sighting was reported in 1783 [44]-sixty years before the great auk became globally extinct in 1844 [41].…”