Just imagine, walking in a South Carolina swamp or woods and suddenly having the sky grow dark. You look up and see a sea of yellow, orange, and green...the sky is full of Carolina Parakeets. Until the early 1900's, it was a possibility. The Carolina Parakeet was the only Parrot native to the eastern United States and North America's only truly native parrot. The last known Carolina Parakeet to exist was "Incus" who died at the Cincinnati zoo in 1918. Ironically, he died in the same cage where the last Passenger Pigeon, Martha, died just four years earlier. Incus had a mate who died a year before he did, but no efforts were made to breed the two, because of a lack of knowledge of their impending extinction.
Several factors contributed to the Carolina Parakeet's extinction, and one is really sad. There was the loss of forests for agricultural space, the birds were harvested for their feathers to decorate ladies hats, and they were killed in huge numbers by farmers who considered them to be pests to their crops. The sad factor happens here...the farmers learned of the parakeets unusual behavior of immediately returning in large flocks to the area where one of their members had been shot to gather around their wounded or dead comrade. Hunters knew this and would wait for the flock to return and kill large numbers at once. Loyalty does not serve well in the animal world, at least not when man is involved.
They were officially declared extinct in 1939, but there are still rumors and folklore saying they exist today in the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia and Florida. All official reported sightings have been declared inaccurate. I still hold out hope.
No living thing should ever be taken for granted.
I think I saw two in a mangrove once...possible ghosts.
ReplyDelete