The last days on Earth of an iconic bird species is re-told in remarkable detail by Gísli Pálsson in his book documenting the decline of the Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis). Entitled “The Last of Its Kind” anthropologist Gísli Pálsson tells the haunting story of the Great Auk’s extinction.  The Great Auk extinction provides a powerful reminder of our culpability and the impact Homo sapiens is having on the planet.

Once abundant in the North Atlantic, this flightless bird was extinct by the middle of the 19th century. Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, Pálsson reconstructs not just the bird’s fate, but the birth of a modern awareness of the natural world and our role in extinctions.

The Great Auk extinction explored in "The Last of Its Kind" by Gísli Pálsson.

The front cover of the Princeton University Press release “The Last of its Kind” by Great Auk extinction explored in “The Last of Its Kind” by Gísli Pálsson. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Great Auk Extinction

The Great Auk extinction was perhaps the first extinction event to attract widespread public awareness of our impact on the natural world.  It remains one of the most tragic and well-documented examples of extinction.  A large, flightless bird that mainly bred on remote, inaccessible islands in the North Atlantic was wiped out by hunting and egg collecting.  The last remaining Great Auks were killed on the Icelandic island of Eldey on the 3rd of June 1844.

The book mixes science, history and cultural analysis. It vividly recounts how British ornithologists Alfred Newton and John Wolley set out for Iceland to collect specimens, only for them to discover that these magnificent birds were gone forever. Pálsson explores museum archives, personal journals, and ecological data to build a compelling narrative. A species lost that helped to awaken our sense of environmental responsibility.

This book is both timely and thought-provoking. It invites readers to reflect on today’s biodiversity crisis through the lens of a single vanished bird. Bird lovers and conservationists alike will find it essential reading.  It has been shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize.

Book Details

Title: “The Last of its Kind – The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction”
Author: Gísli Pálsson
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication Date: April 2024
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 291
ISBN: 9780691230986

List Price: £22.00 GBP/$27.95 USD

This remarkable book can be ordered at this website: Princeton University Press.

Mike Walley from Everything Dinosaur observed:

“The extinction of the Great Auk offers a stark reminder of humanity’s lasting impact on nature. Furthermore, Pálsson’s work challenges us to reflect, take responsibility, and act—before more species are lost forever.”

The award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Models of Prehistoric and Extinct Animals.