Species Biographies

Eastern Elk (Cervus canadensis canadensis)
One of six subspecies of elk that inhabited the northern and eastern United States, and southern Canada. The eastern elk was larger than its western cousins. A full-grown bull could weigh up to 1000 pounds, stand 50-60 inches tall at the shoulder, and carry a rack of antlers six feet in length. The last eastern elk was shot in Pennsylvania on September 1, 1877.

Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis)
A flightless bird of the alcid family that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It bred on rocky, isolated islands with easy access to the ocean and a plentiful food supply, a rarity in nature that provided only a few breeding sites for the auks. The great auk was an important part of many Native American cultures, both as a food source and as a symbolic item. Many Maritime Archaic people were buried with great auk bones. The last great auk seen in Britain was caught by three men from St Kilda.They tied it up and kept it alive for three days, until a large storm arose. Believing that the auk was a witch and the cause of the storm, they then killed it by beating it with a stick.

Baiju (Lipotes vexillifer)
A functionally extinct species of freshwater dolphin formerly found only in the Yangtze River in China. Nicknamed "Goddess of the Yangtze" in China, the baiji population declined drastically in a few decades as China industrialized and made heavy use of the river for fishing, transportation, and hydroelectricity. Baiji could be the first dolphin species in history that humans have driven to extinction. A late 2006 expedition failed to find any baiji in the river, and organizers declared the baiji functionally extinct.