Migrations Got Me Down

Usually, my job is really fun. I get to learn about how bumps on whale fins may make wind turbines more efficient or explore a surprising new take on how to reduce one's carbon footprint. But sometimes, this job is depressing.

While it captures the imagination to ponder the seemingly infinite migrations of passenger pigeons that once darkened the sky, or the huge masses of bison wandering the plains, reading up on these migrations, as I did for today's story, also makes me feel pretty sick at our history. We managed to wipe out three to five billion passenger pigeons from this continent within a couple of hundred years, using methods that were not pleasant to read about.

People saw the extinction coming, but nobody acted effectively to protect the species. By the time captive breeding efforts started, there were too few passenger pigeons; they needed large numbers to court and breed. The last known passenger pigeon died in 1914.

The buffalo story is equally depressing. Maybe you've heard it before, but I was reminded of it as I researched today's article. You can look at heaps of bison skulls, the animals killed for their pelts and the meat wasted. This story seems to have a happier ending, because we still have bison, but not that many.

These stories wouldn't get me so down if it didn't sound just exactly like what we're doing in a zillion ways today--with many aspects of climate change and conservation. Reading the stories in retrospect, the actors come across as ludicrously greedy and shortsighted. I can't help thinking that's how we'll look down the line, too.

(Image: Passenger pigeon)

Comments

[Larry O'Hanlon]

While in principle I totally agree with you, I also can't help cringing a little at the thought of billions of pigeons darkening the sky. A billion herons is inspiring, yes, or a billion penguins darkening the ice. But pigeons? Call me a bird bigot, but I've sat on too many "pigeon-approved" park benches (to put it as mildly as I can) to find the thought of that many pigeons anything but totally terrifying.