PASSENGER pigeons once formed flocks so vast that they would darken the sky for days as they flew past. In the 19th century there were some 5 billion individual birds in North America, more than any other wild bird species in the world.
From a position of such super-abundance, it was unthinkable that they could dwindle. But not only did their numbers fall, the pigeons were completely wiped out in a matter of decades. Their extinction was driven by deforestation and hunting – the cheap pigeon meat was fed to slaves – on a scale that humans excel at. The last animal, Martha, died in Cincinnati zoo in 1914.
When photographer Marc Schlossman opened a drawer at the Field Museum in Chicago, he found the birds as you see them here. With his series of photos of lost animals he wants to emphasise our role in extinctions. "This is all happening so quickly now, at an unprecedented rate," he says.
But extinct animals may not be lost forever. US environmentalist Stewart Brand has an ambitious plan to "de-extinctify" passenger pigeons – bring them back to life by identifying and then splicing the relevant genes into a relative, the band-tailed pigeon. The technical challenges are formidable, and even if it works, the species might still not be viable in the wild. Nor is it agreed that reintroducing extinct animals into the modern world is a good idea. Brand waves this objection away, saying that the pigeon's old habitat is intact, adding: "In the rare case of unwelcome ecological disruption, we know the vulnerabilities of the formerly extinct animals, so we know exactly how to reduce their numbers or eliminate them again."
Schlossman says he would be fascinated to see the animal returned to life. "But if the attempt was not successful, it would be heartbreaking to see a second extinction," he says.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Waiting for resurrection"
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