Great Auk
Golden eggs, witches and life after death all feature in this extraordinary story of the great auk, a flightless bird that was hunted to extinction in 1844. From 2016
In 1844, three men landed on the island of Eldey off the coast of Iceland and crept up on a pair of Great Auks which had an egg in a nest and killed the birds and trampled on the egg. These are believed to have been the last Great Auks which ever lived. Being flightless birds the men had little trouble catching and killing them. As one of the hunters recalled 鈥淚 took him by the neck and he flapped his wings, he made no cry, I strangled him.鈥�
The irony is that once they became extinct, Great Auks became even more sought after; this time by collectors of their skins and eggs. Today there are thought to be 75 specimens in museums or private collections. In this programme, Brett Westwood visits the Great North Museum to see two of these; an adult and a juvenile, before meeting writer and painter Errol Fuller; the proud owner of a Great Auk egg; a beautiful but tragic reminder of what once was. But that isn鈥檛 the end of the story as Brett discovers because a group of scientists are hoping to bring the birds back from extinction in a process called De-extinction.
First broadcast in a longer form 16th August 2016
Original Producer: Sarah Blunt
Archive Producer for 大象传媒 Audio in Bristol : Andrew Dawes
Last on
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How genome editing could bring back the great auk
Duration: 08:33
Errol Fuller
Dan Gordon
Viscount Matt Ridley
He writes a weekly column in The Times and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal.As Viscount Ridley, he was elected to the House of Lords in February 2013.
He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is honorary president of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle and a collaborator with .
Dr Marianne Wilde
As a Research Fellow at the Great North Museum she works with the collections and explores ideas around extinct species and de-extinction and genetic cloning. As demonstrated in the picture of her work above.
Her research interests are concerned with collaborative cross-disciplinary projects that use the visual images and objects of a fine art practice as narrative and explanation in the wider environment.聽
Broadcasts
- Tue 16 Aug 2016 11:00大象传媒 Radio 4
- Mon 22 Aug 2016 21:00大象传媒 Radio 4
- Sun 9 Oct 2022 06:35大象传媒 Radio 4
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