Paleoland - Blog Posts

a little story about seeing the past through the present - featuring razorbill, who is the closest living relative of the great auk, a bird that became extinct not so long ago.

- Native to the Arctic and sub-Arctic region and once numbering millions of individuals, Great auks became extinct mid-19th century. The last breeding pair, found incubating an egg, was killed on 3 June 1844, on request from a merchant who wanted specimens, with Jón Brandsson and Sigurður Ísleifsson strangling the adults and Ketill Ketilsson smashing the egg with his boot. The last individual was seen in 1852, leaving no hope that the species might be extant.