From Billions to Zero in 50 Years - The Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Ready for another high-flying video? Then check out this video and find out How “The Birdman of Alcatraz” Got His Name: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnTJh5msabqZZpY

[@spacealienrissley]

Makes me angry

[@LittleRadicalThinker]

It's one of the ultimate lesson of how our ancestors had great foods and resources but not treasured them, left us nothing but only stories. Clean water blue skies essentially gone already, overdoing everything to essentially destroys every living things on the Earth. Passenger pigeon is just one of the millions.

[@Bi_Nye]

"The last known living Passenger Pigeon would die alone in her cage...So I really hope you enjoyed that video!" Me: ...0_0

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

IKR such a depressing story but "I hope you enjoyed that video."

[@ilikepigeons6101]

:(

[@michellemillet3035]

There is a chance for them!!!. I spotted one in the town I live in yesterday

[@ilikepigeons6101]

Michelle Millet it's easy to confuse them for another type of bird

[@BrianCarnevaleB26]

@@neurofiedyamato8763 ----we are paying now for the continued raping of Mother Earth, the killing of scared animals who are/ were completely innocent and just tried to live their lives.

[@TheZune121]

Did you hear about the man who became a millionaire with one homing pigeon? He sold it for a dollar and it kept coming home a million times!

[@Leongon]

Hm. Simple math... it will take the one pigeon come back with one dollar 274 times every day for 10 years to get 1 million dollars total.

[@dc84c]

still better than working as a slave for 10 years for same amount

[@Leongon]

Good luck getting a client and the pigeon return every 5 minutes all day long without rest for ten years \o/

[@JimFortune]

dc84c What slave makes $100,000 per year?

[@dc84c]

idk but id volunteer to be the one

[@1990Judson]

Good Video, but you failed to mention the last factor in their quick extinction. Their survival as a species relied on huge numbers. In flocks of millions the local wildlife could never do substantial damage to the flock, they reproduced faster than they were eaten, and before the number of predators could rise they were gone to another area. The massive hunting by humans damaged the population to a point were this strategy was no longer viable, most other species could bounce back from a population of a few thousands they couldn´t do that because they had no other survival strategy and the process was to quick for them to adapt.

[@syriuszb8611]

Thanks! I was wondering, how it could be that humans hunted the very last ones. Destroying their survival strategy would do the trick. It makes sense now.

[@5150link5150]

Correct. It is called Predator Satiation and was their only form of defense.

[@iocsparkfire00]

If only the last like 100k could have layed furtil eggs sucks that that were just bad at reproduction

[@brassbuckles]

This is also why I find that theory that they were much lower in population prior to the decline of Native American populations suspect. They required massive flocks just to be able to reproduce, because the whole strategy was to allow predators to feed on the chicks until they couldn't eat any more. Most of the chicks would be able to survive just based on sheer numbers. I'm not inclined to believe the bison population exploded, either. They had predators, and those predators were abundant before European settlers began to hunt them. Native Americans were primarily hunting for food and resources. You don't have to hunt too many bison to feed a large number of people. It may have had an effect on the bison population when there were fewer Native Americans, but that effect would have been mitigated by an increase in predators like wolves and bears.

[@brassbuckles]

@@5150link5150 It was more "they left their chicks on the ground." Predators ate what they wanted, and yet there were so many that most chicks would survive. Too few passenger pigeons would mean that no chicks would survive predation even if they tried to reproduce. To be fair there was also safety in numbers in that predators would have a harder time singling out just one passenger pigeon out of billions, and in the fact that if there were so many that more chicks survived than were eaten, then they could easily replace lost members as long as there were still massive numbers of passenger pigeons. Obviously, once the population was reduced, this strategy was a huge drawback. And it can't be discounted that disease could have played some factor in weakening or reducing the population further, because it's strongly believed that the Carolina parakeet died from a poultry disease. There's no reason it couldn't have also spread to the passenger pigeons.

[@bantersaurusrex1202]

You said county and I read country... Simon I cant deal with the lies anymore 😣

[@AllenSimpsonDGR8]

It's just a friggin' estate for _'s sake.

[@AllenSimpsonDGR8]

Also a state and state of mind.

[@imagedezach]

he made the same mistake a couple videos ago, definitely a running unintentional gag at this point

[@sleeknub]

Alex Cortés if, when you say Eastern Europe, you mean Asia, you are correct.

[@AllenSimpsonDGR8]

Don't get it. That hair does look familiar tho.

[@micahphilson]

2:35, he says "County of Georgia" rather than country, which normally wouldn't change anything, but in this case there's a country and a state Georgia, the state having counties, and for all I know a county in some state named Georgia County (though I couldn't find one, all that came up was Georgia counties). Sorry, just thought I'd point it out even though it can't really be fixed and isn't minor enough to warrant any worry!

[@PerplexiaX]

Micah Philson I think he meant the US state ... he could have meant the Russian one!

[@acoow]

When someone makes an obvious mistake in a video, it's a good idea to see if six dozen other people haven't pointed it out already.

[@jonathanmccarrick7150]

It is because this fact was taken from spydersden.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/the-extinction-of-the-passenger-pigeon/ And it refers to the country of georgia in eastern europe.

[@micahphilson]

Perplexia X, yeah I was going to say it's probably the country, that the "r" was left out, not that it was meant to be an entirely different word. Though that's an odd comparison to make, so it's good to also know it came from somewhere else.

[@SkorpTS]

Wait, at 2:37 Simon says "county", but the text on screen says "country". I'm confused now. Which is it? (It would be funny if both were the exact same size, meaning it wouldn't matter, although that's unlikely.)

[@Rathkryn]

The country of Georgia is 26,911 square miles. The state of Georgia is 59,425 square miles. Fulton County in the state of Georgia is 908 square miles. So I'm assuming they meant a county in Georgia since they said 850 square miles and I don't know of a Georgia county in Wisconsin.

[@jackalope2302]

Lucas Akame Or maybe the state of Geogia was a county back then.

[@ZoeKitten84]

Jack Alope Georgia the state was one of the original 13 colonies, so it would have still been a state by 1871. Can't help otherwise, if they meant the state or the country.

[@jackalope2302]

ZoeKitten84 Oh yeah. I live next door to Georgia

[@JimFortune]

Poetic Abomination There are counties bigger than Lichtenstein...

[@juliamavroidi8601]

You mase a joke, alluding to the idea that walking below a swarm of pidgeons would result in a person getting pooped on. However pidgeons never defecate while flying, so that's not a thing you have to be afraid of. Seagulls on the other hand ONLY defecate while in air, so... careful

[@SeraphinaPZ]

When he talked about animal population explosions, I broke out in a cold sweat imagining the day when the deer will take back Pennsylvania and drive out the humans.

[@calamusgladiofortior2814]

Get your hooves off me, you damn, dirty deer! ;)

[@KSeigY]

Just imagined a deer with a shotgun and camo cap. Where have I seen this before?

[@kineticdeath]

oh deer!

[@acehighjohn1759]

@@KSeigY QOTSA video song 'No one knows'...i think, defo a similar scenario

[@geoffreywilson7008]

How we made them go extinct: We overcounted them in the billions, and ran out after a few hundred million. Oops >.>

[@anthonyciccariello8089]

That was some sad shit man.

[@MrTuffarts]

Please explain the Bison population explosion

[@volvo09]

Bison had an easy time reproducing so their population exploded... Is that good? :)

[@James-wl4wi]

Scott Glen the native hunted the bison keeping the population down but when the European arrived and wiped out the native there was nobody hunting the bison hence, there population boomed I think

[@rftt6y7tr]

james edwards Mostly its the opposite the Europeans brought the bison to extinction hunting even when riding on train latter when space national park was set aside for the bison the population recovered

[@cloudkitt]

ariel safran It's not the opposite, you're talking about different time periods. The bison population boomed after disease wiped out most of the natives but before European settlers moved in.

[@rlbadger1698]

The native populations and major predators where reduced by old world diseases. Surviving native populations using European weapons and traps further thinned the predator population. The stage was set for the bison population explosion.

[@sidkapoor9085]

Why are the first episodes of a series called "pilot"?

[@sladetax8114]

Sid Kapoor cause it's their first time "on the air"

[@amojak]

it is like a pilot light on a gas heater. it is the thing that lights the main when required.

[@promontorium]

Both answers suggested so far make sense, the pilot light more so, but either way now I want a video on pilot episodes.

[@tohopes]

its because if its good, then they "pile it" on with the remainder of the season.

[@KryssLaBryn]

Give it a test go, see it it'll fly?

[@willswalkingwest7267]

Passenger Pigeons roosted and nested in Red Oaks during acorn season. The large flocks would cause so much damage, similar to what natural forest fires do, and destroy enough underbrush to allow a multitude of other plants and trees to thrive. The new open canopies and newly fertilized ground created great soil for new trees. The loss of these flocks created problems for many species. One notable one, WHITE Oak, started becoming more scarce. Not only was it in demand by humans, the White Oak is an amazing wood, used for heaps of things, one thing it is used for is whiskey barrels. Once the flocks disappeared, Red Oaks took the place of the more valuable White oak. Another thing the pigeons did was keep deer herds in check. They ate a tremendous amount of acorns and other foods that deer need. Because of the boom in these foods after the pigeons died off, the deer populations exploded. And the negative impact from this is felt today as the increase in deer led to the proliferation of deer ticks, and LYME disease. Humans never think about what they are doing to our world. We just do what we do, only concerned what is happening in our tiny little universes around our homes, jobs and immediate turf. The main lesson from all of this is that WE SUCK.

[@nickdaveNDM]

Have you done the Coelacanth story? The scientific community was sure for years that it was extinct until they started finding them in fish markets in Asia.

[@brandongaines1731]

"... [Passenger pigeons] are here today and elsewhere tomorrow": the most myopic statement that I have come across while watching KZbin videos.

[@maxmander]

Wait... passenger pigeons had nipples for milk? Or milk aka the throw up material? Bit confused

[@acoow]

Did you notice that in the closed captioning there were quotes around that part? That really does mean something.

[@xxXthekevXxx]

Not milk. "Milk". They called it milk, but they were just well-fed birds and the people of those times were ignorant and called it milk.

[@prismstudios001]

Pigeons and doves actually produce a sort of milk...the liking of the adult's crop produces a thick, white, nutritionally dense fluid that the young drink by sticking their bill in the parent's,and drinking it down. I raised white doves for a while, and watched this first hand....pretty fascinating.

[@prismstudios001]

Sorry, that should read LINING of the parent's crop....Thanks ,autocorrect!

[@Mikazuchireborn]

Makes sense. Milk is technically just a form of nutritious blood and a very useful adaption, so it's not unthinkable that some birds would develop a similar ability.

[@jt16omes]

Do we have its dna?

[@pmsteamrailroading]

jtomes123 in fact we do. This is will be one the first species to be de extinct.

[@jt16omes]

That is great news! They will probably also be a bit easier to reproduce artificially than mammoths, so it might even be quite quick.

[@Rathkryn]

These birds were causing large scale ecological damage. Why would we want to restore them to the ecosystem?

[@TakeoFR]

Not as much damage as humans. Yet nobody is trying to get rid of them. Let the pigeons repopulate, but allow hunting them before they reach unsustainable high populations.

[@Sleepy.Time.]

You cant redevelop a species around a couple clones as inbreeding tends to be a bad thing with higher forms of life.

[@TheSt1nkyclam]

Cincinnati zoo also had the one and only that died on their watch... RIP Harambe

[@mr.x2567]

TheSt1nkyclam fuck Cincinnati

[@kevinslater4126]

Passanger Pigeons need no protection, they'll be fine. We don't need to legislate leaded gasoline, it's fine. We don't need to legislate against tobacco, we're fine. We don't need to worry about CO2 emissions, it'll be fine.

[@thecavedweller616]

We don't need to worry about Kevin Slater, he'll be fine.

[@schadenfreudebuddha]

Too many of them were sent out in Blue Apron meal kits.

[@lockhrt999]

lol

[@grayswandir47]

Those trees were also used to build homes, barns, corrals, outhouses, saloons, cathouses, drygood stores, school houses, churches and so on. The wood that wasn't useful in construction became firewood.

[@CarthagoMike]

The birds might have rampaged forests like tornadoes, but humans completely annihilated both the birds and the forests.

[@billybobbobbobbilly]

The nihilism in this comment section is concerning. Also, to anyone interested we're much more strict now on the hunting of anything than we used to be. History has taught us what happens when it goes unregulated and we've learned, so please stop judging people of yesteryear by the standards of today.

[@christianknuchel]

+Whatever lol : I disagree. People back in the day didn't learn fast enough, just as people today aren't learning fast enough, even though the issues are staring all of us in the face. This complacent, conservative approach to the problems of tomorrow is as much a problem today as it was yesterday, and that's why there is on room to be lenient on it.

[@hans-joachimbierwirth4727]

You don't get the causality. Each pound of human flesh comes with a cost, and since the primary source of biomass can't adapt and is even shrinking we eat up the biosphere because of our growing numbers. It is neither greed nor capitalism or any other aspect of human behaviour within our control. Actually we are overestimating the oceanic ressources and will see them gone completely before 2050. Last forests will be transformed in to agricultural plants around 2065 and rapid mass extinction of all vertebrates will happen between 2075 and 2100. We are far beyond the point of no return.

[@SamuelKristopher]

+Hans-Joachim Bierwirth that's only if nothing else changes except our rate of consumption, but you're not factoring in unforeseeable events that could shape our future - both good ones, and bad ones. There are many technologies on the way that are already cutting pollution levels. GMOs, I believe, will gain acceptance and that means crops can use less land area to get higher yields. Renewables are already becoming competitive with non-renewable, and the future of oil is bleak. Then there is the shit even worse than the overuse of resources - a vast population put out of work by automation. Before the end of the century, we're gonna see unemployment rates way over 50% in developed countries. Demagogues will be voted in to "fix" the issues and political structures will collapse - smart countries will put a hold on democracy while their governments are still populated by proper politicians - those who wait too long will lose democracy anyway via demagoguery. One can only hope, out of the horror of such a holocaust, that the population that survives will be able to enter their new future in a much more sustainable way.

[@sonalirai5835]

Even in yester years there were communities of people who made a living by hunting animals but they understood the importance of conservation. Like the fishing communities in the southern coasts of India don't fish during the breeding season and they let go of young fishes so that the population of the fish isn't drastically affected. If you look it up, you can find similar example. Humans are not stupid. Understanding of ecology isn't modern. The people because of whom entire species populations go extinct are a bunch of greedy ingorant fucks! They were not babys. They knew exactly what they were doing. Stop trying to defend them!

[@6iaZkMagW7EFs]

Whatever lol 50 years should be enough time to learn

[@RoccosVideos]

2:35 entire country of Georgia, not county.

[@atomatopia1]

"Martha sat alone in her one bird cage alone" I think you missed an 'alone' somewhere in there

[@Xtank425]

Well, either that or he was emphasizing "alone"...

[@writingworks]

2:34 Simon says county of Georgia while the text on screen says country of Georgia

[@cliftonchurch6039]

Any chance that clay pigeons were named after carrier pigeons, to replace them as sport shooting targets?

[@amojak]

no they were named after the round discs being made of... clay :)

[@ventroid4473]

amojak but then where did the "pigeon" part come from?

[@PerplexiaX]

...That's an intriguing thought... Simon, there's a subject for you!!!

[@Duncan_Idaho_Potato]

Carrier pigeons (homing pigeons) are just trained domestic pigeons. Pigeons (aka, rock doves) used to be used for target shooting competitions. Eventually that was banned for humanitarian reasons. Just as you surmised, when the clay target was invented they called them clay "pigeons" for that reason. A clay pigeon in flight is called a "bird", a hit is called a "kill" and the device used to launch the clay pigeons is still known as a "trap".

[@prismstudios001]

The pigeon part of clay pigeon comes from the fact that live pigeons were,and sometimes still are, used as targets. The birds are tossed up in the air, ans shot out of the sky. The clay targets are tossed up, and shot the same way...thus, "Clay Pigeon".

[@canag0d]

@2:30 Today I Found Out: Georgia is a “county” and not a “country” in Eurasia surrounded by Armenia and Azerbaijan. ❤️

[@tonlito22]

One of these days humanity will fulfill its destiny and we will talk about the mosquito in the same terms. Except they're not even edible.

[@voxelfusion9894]

Ton Lito some African tribes are surrounded by so many mosquitoes that they catch and smash them into burger patties. They fry them and eat roasted mosquito. Yummy.

[@tonlito22]

Wow, that is sad.

[@voxelfusion9894]

Ton Lito Not necessarily, humans adapt well to their surroundings and make the best of their situation. From a western perspective it may seem sad that people eat mosquitoes, but it's probably just normal to them. Some other tribes hunt tarantulas, it works for them. I am concerned about the health risks involved in eating a dangerous disease transmitter such as mosquitoes though.

[@jonatand2045]

Ton Lito it will be possible with genetic en engineering

[@XavionofThera]

Horrible idea. A virus designed to wipe out a specific species (which we don't have the right to do and is a horrible, abominable, selfish thing to do) could very, very easily mutate and evolve to attack other species as well. There is no way to genetically engineer something in a way that it won't mutate.

[@jasonhatt4295]

6:09 Indeed. Here today, gone tomorrow.

[@SWIFTO_SCYTHE]

"17 years later the last passenger pidgeon died alone" IF YOU ENJOYED THAT... you are a sick human XD

[@212superdude212]

one massive flock replaced by another, only this time, WE have done far more damage than they ever could

[@kakyoukuzuki]

*SPOILER ALERT* Humans did it

[@tohopes]

2:32 the country of Georgia is 26911 sq mi... that's a lot more than 850 sq mi.

[@alexwang982]

tohopes he said the county

[@ilikepigeons6101]

The story of the passenger pigeon was really depressing me as a kid :( If only humanity wasn't so greedy and hateful

[@mr.x2567]

I LiKe PiGeoNs this I why I encourage suicide. Also you’re a human, so does that automatically make you greedy and hateful? You’re certainly not doing anything to help. Why are you wasting yourself?

[@ilikepigeons6101]

@@mr.x2567 Looking back on this comment I was a borderline edgelord 1 year ago

[@DinoPalaeosc]

​@@ilikepigeons6101 damn

[@RoundPi]

1:42 Heh. Solar eclipse... I'm gonna make a joke. My sunglasses

[@ratbones620]

A good lesson on why we need hunting to be regulated.

[@davis4555]

Yes, but also this wasn't really "hunting" as we think of it; it was an industry. Industrial hunting also nearly wiped out bison and has wrought havoc on marine species.

[@TheGuruStud]

It's farming

[@sirbillius]

Pretty much everyone 100 years ago knew what passenger pidgeon tasted like. Nowadays, no one left alive knows the taste of the once common meal.

[@MetalPcAngel]

How Coo' was that.

[@Hoshimaru57]

Are there any stories in history where humans have made things better by existing for anyone but themselves?

[@troodon1096]

At least 14 different species require humans to survive now, and when we're gone, they'll die too.

[@ahmedexmor]

50 years! Damn this video is gonna be long..

[@premier69]

so miles and feet and whatever, thank you sooo much! off to do conversions I go.

[@lususnaturae999]

question is, did their extinction have any detrimental effects to the world?

[@BarryHolsinger]

lususnaturae999 The passenger pigeon's gall bladder held the complex protein "di-roxanne li-turn offitus" which could have been used to cure a multitude of illnesses. But, alas, because the birds have flown the coup, we must suffer on.

[@prismstudios001]

No more than ours would....

[@XavionofThera]

Yes. A beautiful, unique creature that once roamed the earth is now gone for the sake of the convenience of asshole humans. If I was in charge at the time, I would impose the death penalty on poachers.

[@Gearsio]

Xavion251 okay um hold on that's going a bit too far mate I agree poachers are assholes but not even they deserve the death penalty if anything having them stranded somewhere far off somewhere else would make more sense

[@abyssstrider2547]

First Name they would just kill again, i would impose same laws for murder on animals as humans, unless bred by yourself

[@georgelittle3436]

didn't know about this pigeon problem

[@JPasdfjkl]

I once had a friend we used to call Pigeon Man.

[@machiel5888]

Bless up, Pidgeon Man

[@SalamanderMagic]

JP Why did you call him that?

[@amojak]

perhaps he kept pigeons?

[@aR0ttenBANANA]

+JP you mean the guy from hey arnold?

[@Dom-ck6uk]

Verty Maybe because they're referring to the guy from Hey Arnold?

[@CadaverKindler]

At 2:28 there's a typo. The audio says County while the text says Country.

[@voxelfusion9894]

CadaverKindler not a typo, Simon misspoke again.

[@waqqashanafi]

The REAL reason the passenger pigeon died out is because it was never good at finding mates. That is why they traveled in large hordes because they sucked at finding mates in the wild. Once the horde was broken, the lone passenger pigeons died out single.

[@nicolascageboii6127]

Vegeta Dbiop I sincerely doubt humans were the sole reason for their extinction, not to mention they were a dangerous species to the environment Inb4 edgy ass “humans are worse” You contribute to it just as much as anyone else

[@samuelhanks2481]

Vegeta Dbiop It's not only the Americans that make species extict you know? People like you need quit being hypocritical. I'm sure if you look your country up there would be a pretty long list of extict animals too. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_animals_of_the_British_Isles

[@nicolascageboii6127]

Vegeta Dbiop bisons didn’t wreck havoc on the environment, but “oh lord humans did it so it’s horrible even if there was some good in it”

[@Rainkit]

Nicolas Cage Boii They only "wrecked havoc" in small areas for short periods of time, similar to wild parakeets in Australia. I'm sure in reality, the toll they took on the environment was minimal. Otherwise they would have gone extinct long before.

[@brassbuckles]

This is extremely incorrect. They likely formed pairs that mated for life. The problem is they needed numbers to defend themselves against predators and to reproduce effectively... not because it was hard for them to find mates, but because they left their chicks on the ground and allowed predators to eat their fill. With such massive numbers, the birds were able to produce far more chicks than predators in the area could consume, so plenty of them would still survive to adulthood. This strategy failed once the population dropped below a certain critical point. At that point, more chicks would be eaten by predators than would survive, and therefore the population of the passenger pigeon was not being replaced or grown. This breeding strategy is also why any claims of a sighting or of passenger pigeons surviving someplace else are highly unlikely. They couldn't overcome thousands of years of instinct to suddenly keep their chicks in safer nests. These were not birds that could survive in pairs or small flocks of maybe 10 birds. They'd need to be in flocks that could produce hundreds of chicks, or else all the chicks would be eaten.

[@neeneec5394]

I'm from Cincinnati. they often hire certain birds ( 2 birds in fact) who feed off pigeons ( their life/ meat) and it's like 2 weeks time you rarely see a pigeon around vs were thousands. however an old friend of mines father has paid 15 grand for a single pigeon taught to give messages by notes to others... as done in old days. he held pigeons costing from 2-15 grand with about 100 total. they were kept in a huge barn and all were released to fly freely in sky once a day and all returned. only a few made it for contests in which bird to travel the fastest to delivery and return back.

[@neeneec5394]

PS I hate it how other hate upon them. they are friendly birds and pick up crumbs etc preventing mice, rats and roaches.

[@mangot589]

And yet, we can’t get rid of feral pigs, invasive species. That’s always confused me. We wiped out millions and millions of these poor creatures, but can’t bring nuisance animals to heel.🤷‍♀️

[@bondinvisible]

Often times endangered native species are less tolerant of habitat disturbance and are less adaptable. Sadly the passenger pigeon just couldn’t adapt to large human presence. An abundant animal introduced elsewhere is often better prepared to adapt to a new ecosystem and thrive due to a lack of predators that know how to hunt them. I imaging the passages pigeon had lots of predators besides people.

[@Thx1138sober]

Simon said county of Georgia, but the captions say the country of Georgia. There is no Georgia county in Wi and the country of Georgia is over 26,000 Sq miles. 850 sq miles is about the same size as Dallas County TX which is just over 900 sq miles. So we are talking about an area of about 29 miles by 29 miles.

[@gungriffen]

I just want to point out to every person who says that humanity is the problem they themselves are just one suicide away from being part of the solution.

[@troodon1096]

Good point. Anyone who says this and doesn't start with themselves is just a hypocrite.

[@alexwang982]

Wait, but then they cAnt inform other people to suicide

[@dylanchan5884]

Not everyone,the people who hunt and kill wild animals ,and why people need to suicide even though they have problems?You really have strange logic!

[@Crazyweazelbear]

Thank you Europeans your very good at what you do

[@courtneywoodbury5198]

Poor Martha...for a creature used to the company of millions to be all alone, it must have been so depressing.

[@adrianortega1431]

0:13 This bird caused Batman and Superman to become friends.

[@KingFluffs]

They're not extinct. Have you ever seen a passenger pigeon and a collared dove in the same room? No! They've just decided to disguise themselves and live out a new life.

[@alexwang982]

KingFluffs yes I have.

[@johngrey5806]

At 2:28 in the video, the text says "country of Georgia" but the speaker says "county of Georgia".

[@jeffg.445]

And yet, we could see the passenger pigeon return to the skies given we have well preserved DNA samples. See: www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-dna-could-return-passenger-pigeons-to-the-sky/

[@mikes5637]

"Martha... WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!"

[@hamsterama]

It makes me wonder if the bird populations of other species benefited from the disappearance of the passenger pigeon. With the pigeons eating everything in sight, I would think that would have made it difficult for other bird species to thrive.

[@XavionofThera]

Extremely doubtful. We know from the fossil record that prior to human arrival, the animal extinction rate anywhere (apart from rare catastrophic events) was extremely low.

[@thenotorious7113]

'Fort Mississauga' omg I'm dead 😂

[@nathanmcnee3343]

Billions and millions

[@930310]

Billions of pigeons were killed to feed millions of humans.

[@herbiehusker1889]

2:36 is Georgia a county? A country or a state?

[@ashu21]

Martha? HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME?!

[@gaylewitowski2216]

Instead of letting her die, why didn't they breed her with a domestic pigeon, or else at least tried! (bird lover here)

[@brassbuckles]

Because: 1) Hybrids are most often sterile. 2) She wasn't even the same genus of bird, so a hybrid probably wouldn't have been possible. At the time it was believed the closest relative to the passenger pigeon was the mourning dove, so that's most likely what they would have attempted if they'd wanted a hybrid. It would have failed because passenger pigeons were not very closely related to mourning doves. 3) She was 29 years old when she died, which going by the maximum lifespan of a captive rock dove/domestic pigeon, is VERY old. The average age is around 15 with some making it to 30. In other words, she died of old age. They couldn't exactly wave a magic wand and make her immortal. 4) They did try to find her a mate, but by that time all the passenger pigeons were gone or so rare that they would be gone very soon. 5) No one was able to get passenger pigeons to breed in captivity. Researchers think they may have refused to do so without a certain size flock, due to their overall breeding strategy requiring an overabundance of chicks for the purpose of predator satiation. 6) Assuming they had put Martha with some other species of pigeon, passenger pigeon behavior was so unique that it is unlikely any courtship would have succeeded, or, if it did, passenger pigeon nesting behavior would be so far removed from that of other pigeons that it would have been very difficult for them to rear offspring, even in the off chance that they actually bred and were somehow able to produce viable eggs. We now know that the passenger pigeon was the sole member of its own genus. Its closest relative is the band-tailed pigeon, but that bird is in a different genus so the two wouldn't have been very close genetically. Also, while hybrids can be pretty common with bird breeders, that doesn't mean it's always a great idea. When it comes to endangered species, those hybrids can't be used to rebuild the wild population. They're not breeds, they are species, with distinct habitats and behaviors. A hybrid will usually behave differently from its parents.

[@ihavenosociallifedaddy0253]

I saw pigeons in Dubai, it was weird

[@jackalope2302]

I have no social life Daddy025 Different species

[@ihavenosociallifedaddy0253]

still pigeon

[@jackalope2302]

I have no social life Daddy025 Wow. Lol. You got me there. What was so strange about Dubai pigeons?

[@Duncan_Idaho_Potato]

The rock dove's (aka, the pigeon, aka, Columba Livia) native range is in the middle east, including the UAE. They are now a "cosmopolitan" species found on every continent on earth (in appropriate habitats) except Antarctica. It's not weird if you see them ANYWHERE, especially Dubai. I guess if you saw one in Antarctica, that would be weird.

[@beaconrider]

Not a whole lot for them to eat there.

[@ElkaPME]

Those pigeons who shit on our cities today.. It's the return of the why us with a vengeance

[@arclight480]

I feel so bad for them

[@captain54526]

The main factor to their extinction was the Chinese Blight that killed every American Chesnutt tree in the U.S, its main food source during migrations. At one time the American Chesnutt tree accounted for 25 % (1 in 4) of the hardwood forest of North America. Their decline is exactly and parallels the Passenger Pigeon decline until there was no more about the same time period. The Civil War had an impact too with it as well, to feed huge armies.

[@HailAnts]

And the world is such an apocalyptic wasteland with one less species of bird...

[@XavionofThera]

An entire species was wiped out for human convenience, that is an utter tragedy. If you can't see that, you are a monster.

[@HailAnts]

Xavion251 - Yeah I can see it. And it’s not a good thing. But fact is it hasn’t made the slightest difference in anything...

[@alexwang982]

then don’t disagree with yerself

[@aleczitzelberger8123]

HailAnts what if a chemical or piece of dna in that animal held the cure for cancer? When you exterminate an entire species, you risk losing all the good that might have come from it. That’s why rainforest destruction is so awful. We have likely destroyed many miracles of nature without even knowing about them.

[@MtnTow]

I'm thinking population collapse probably played a role unbeknowst to the people of the time.

[@brassbuckles]

My guess is that along with hunting and the taking of the chicks, the passenger pigeon could have been subject to the same problem faced by the Carolina parakeet: introduced poultry disease. So even if the hunting alone hadn't been enough to cause the population to crash (which it likely was because people stopped killing them for food and started to kill them en masse for commercial purposes), disease would've finished the job.

[@AccessHollywoood]

*Can we just be real for a second? If there were massive flocks of Passenger Pigeons flying around still, people would be complaining non-stop and everyone would wish they were dead.*

[@XavionofThera]

The passenger pigeons wouldn't feel that way. Why so much emphasis on the minor annoyance of people as opposed to the LIVES of the animals?

[@Gr33do]

Xavion251 The pigeons would not care if they were killed because their tiny brains cannot form opinions or perform thinking like humans do. Stop believing that animals hold the same value as humans- they don't.

[@XavionofThera]

*You* wouldn't care if you were killed because you would be *dead*. Animals have emotions, experience the world, and feel pleasure and pain. They do not have the same value as us but still do have great value. Stop believing animals are worthless because they can't do calculus.

[@Rainkit]

Humans are worthless They can't appreciate what they have. They only appreciate what they want or what they can never have again.

[@krockettz3231]

Entree Lol you over estimate your own worth and underestimate the worth of animals, which is where you’re wrong. They might not be on the same playing field intelligence wise, but they’re sentient same as you and I. You’d be surprised at just how down to earth certain animals are, especially once you observe them on a closer level. We’re all not so different.

[@tmhunter7]

If this video taught me anything, it's that zombies in the Walking Dead would be all but eradicated by now.

[@tariqazizsofi7875]

Who else listened to "Passengers| Let her go" to feel better after watching this 🤔

[@ianpennebaker7339]

Forearm whit patch magically disappeared after 30 seconds

[@MrMarttivainaa]

And nothing of value was lost.

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

If you die, nothing of value would be lost either.

[@alexwang982]

What about the food source for the insects?

[@davidbonney3100]

Yeah you and your whole family

[@hich4155]

thank you, i hope you have more videos like that about extinct animals

[@williambertels8257]

These birds do sound horrible really! It is a shame when something goes extinct but these pigeons seemed like a nuisance for everything, trees, competing bird species, but at least they kept our ancestors fed before modern agriculture could bridge the gap!

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

That's due to overpopulation. Any over population would result in the same issues. This is actually a good example of how humans ARE part of the food chain. We aren't just some observer that decide what lives and what dies. We can do that but we shouldn't. We need to maintain the food chain. The Native Americans kept the bird population under control. When the Europeans killed off the Natives by introducing diseases, the birds over populated. However due to human OVER POPULATION, the birds proceeded to go extinct.

[@dylanchan5884]

Another delusional and think-lack comments,where do you get this conclusion?you have been to 19th century?!

[@leviwarren6222]

"Martha sat alone in her one-bird cage alone."

[@hmshood9212]

Good Riddance

[@alexwang982]

Dio Brando of you that is

[@xMrGrimshawx]

Martha sat alone... in a one bird cage... alone. WE GET IT, THE BIRDS LONELY.

[@RenatoLaporte]

Lets learn the lesson to exterminate the pigeons that we have now. ^^

[@Eternal-pj8zh]

It's only fair

[@paulinapayment9760]

That means also all those pretty white doves, my dear- they're simply white pigeons. Pigeons aren't filthy, like they're often thought of- you're clearly uneducated, making a joke or a bit heartless (Probably all three.)

[@momcat2223]

I'm sorry, but mourning doves & white-winged doves are lovely, graceful, welcome creatures, while rock doves are fat, slow, gluttonous, and unwelcome rats-on-the-wing - at least in our back garden.

[@jefflindeman]

Let's not forget the bushy tailed rat, commonly known as a gray squirrel!

[@alexwang982]

why? Don’t genocide pigeons, what did they ever do? That have as many diseases as any other birb

[@carolannmileshughes7922]

They ate them and wild parrots/parakeets thought not to be able to adjust to harsh winters in Chicago! Last one seen in 2012& two carriers December 2022.

[@brassbuckles]

The Carolina parakeet wasn't on the menu. It was literally poisonous. People hunted them to some extent to protect their crops and for their plumage for women's fashion/hats, but they tasted terrible and eating one could make you sick. When cats ate them, they would die. The reason is that the Carolina parakeet fed on cockleburrs and incorporated the poisons from that plant into their own bodies. But likewise, the cockleburr was considered a weed and farmers didn't want it on their property. So even though some of the parakeets were killed, they were also seen as beneficial. Even the captive Carolina parakeets, of which there were quite a few around that time, mysteriously vanished from record. Researchers have concluded that what ultimately killed the Carolina parakeet was exposure to poultry disease.

[@yendak]

So, can we repeat this with our modern pigeons?

[@XavionofThera]

If you are serious and I ruled the world, I would have you executed. Humans wiping out entire species is worse than any other atrocity ever committed.

[@abyssstrider2547]

yendak why would you kill such nice creatures anyways?

[@Gr33do]

Xavion251 For fucks sake your comment is fucking retarded.... are you actually saying that some fucking birds dying is worse than the plague or the goddamn holocaust? Humanity is doomed.

[@jammer523691aj]

I know they're annoying sometimes, but they don't deserve to be wiped out.

[@frankteng]

No, rock pigeons do very well in the city and suburbs. And I don’t see their habitat being anytime destroyed.

[@stevereynolds8596]

What about the origin of the term "stool pigeon" that came from trapping a pigeon and having it call and bring a flock to it?

[@noahpaulette1490]

First

[@MemeDog211]

random kid Nope 2nd

[@danielweaver2850]

random kid no your not I not first

[@WG55]

6:47 "But, unfortunately, this was all too late. Seventeen years later, the last known living passenger pigeon would die alone in her cage. [short, painful pause] So I really hope you enjoyed that video!" Yikes!

[@NotQuiteFirst]

From billions to zero in 50 years? So there is some hope for the Muslim situation after all...

[@amojak]

he's right you know ^^

[@jammer523691aj]

Ha. Ha. Ha.

[@johntracy72]

The extinction of the passenger pigeon is why we now have closed seasons on bird and game hunting. They weren't given a chance to breed in the spring and summer.

[@FishFind3000]

County? You mean country??? 2:32

[@nx99]

Rocky Mountain Locusts would be a great name for a band.

[@hardcorehunter7162]

It took 3:00 to actually get to the question.

[@drumsmoker731]

Stories like these remind of humanity being a cancer to this world. Hope nature can beat this plague some day.

[@JamaicanMeCrazy]

The passenger car is going down this same road

[@TheKamiBunny]

Did he just say... Pigeons Milk?

[@petergray2712]

2:10 Rocky Mountain Locust is also extinct.😰

[@c.rutherford]

Well when they had a band of commercial poachers following the flocks around the country with shotguns every day of the year, every town waited for them coming with a wall of rifles..... and they set fire to their nesting grounds (to collect the broiled eggs). It seemed bound to happen in retrospect

[@Pfromm007]

I could've sworn I saw some today!

[@jaydonj.2330]

Martha should have just adopted some more pigeons