I. Lost Not Forgotten
Great auk
IN 1.60.07-J
Great auk
Pinguinus impennis
Young portrait
I. Lost Not Forgotten
Field notes
The great auk belonged to the northern auks, not the penguins. Flightless in air, it pursued fish underwater and returned to remote rocky islands to breed. Its North Atlantic world stretched between the shores and islands of Europe and North America.
- Former range
- North Atlantic coasts and islands
- Habitat
- Coastal seas; remote rocky islands for breeding
Extinction
Centuries of killing for meat, feathers and oil devastated great auk colonies. As birds became rare, demand for skins and eggs intensified. The species disappeared in the nineteenth century; reports after the well-documented 1844 killings complicate a single final date.
Sources & conservation context
- Natural History Museum — When worlds collide: The lesson of the great auk
- Natural History Museum Species Dictionary — Pinguinus impennis
Extinct — Global species status: Pinguinus impennis
Source review: 6 October 2026. Assessment dates, where given, belong to the cited source.