The extinction stories of once numerous species of animals and birds repeatedly emphasize the cruelty and shortsightedness of mankind. This is also evidenced by the extermination of a huge number of wandering pigeons, who were the most numerous birds in the XVIII and early XIX centuries, not only on the American continent, but throughout the world.
The main habitat of this amazing bird was North America. The wandering pigeon got its name because of the habit of flocks to move from place to place in search of food. Having eaten everything in one area, the flock rose into the sky, flying to another forest. The birds mainly fed on tree seeds, acorns, nuts and chestnuts. They settled in huge colonies, numbering up to one billion individuals.
Up to a hundred pigeons nested on one tree. There was only one egg in each nest, but birds could raise several chicks in one year. Their numbers were so huge that during flights they covered the sun with themselves, and there was such a noise from flapping wings that they covered their ears. The wandering pigeon had a pretty good speed, flying one mile per minute, that is, he could cross the ocean and fly to Europe in just three days.
In the XIX century, the American government decided to exterminate this species of birds. Since the meat of the pigeon was edible, hunters were immediately found. People came to the habitats of birds at night, chopped trees, killing chicks and adults. They shot at the unfortunate with rifles and pistols, even a stone thrown into the flock killed several pigeons at once.
The extinct bird was then sold in the markets at 1 cent for two carcasses. Their bodies were loaded into wagons and sent to large cities for sale, people salted pigeons, and then fed them pets, made fertilizers from them. In the period from 1860 to 1870, about a million individuals were exterminated. Then, every year, a wandering pigeon began to appear less and less, flocks noticeably thinner, but this did not stop the bloodthirsty hunters.
The last representative of this species was killed in 1899. The Americans started at once, realizing what they had done, but it was too late. In just a few decades, a wandering dove was wiped off the face of the earth. The government promised a reward of one million dollars for the discovered pair of birds, but all in vain.
Nobody wants to blame themselves, therefore, various reasons for the disappearance of this species of birds were invented. According to one of them, the pigeons went to the North Pole, but, unable to withstand the harsh conditions, they died. The second theory said that the remaining colony of birds went to Australia, but a terrible storm caught its way, so the whole flock drowned. Perhaps this species simply could not exist in small colonies, and therefore died.
Be that as it may, but the blame for the disappearance of wandering pigeons lies entirely on the shoulders of man. Extinct birds have become a vivid confirmation of the greed, cruelty, bloodthirstiness and stupidity of people. Man in such a short time was able to destroy the most numerous species of birds and did not even notice in time that they were on the verge of extinction. If this goes on, then soon the planet will become deserted and dull. We ourselves cut down the branches on which we sit, and do not even notice it.
