。 imagine ground sloths that could look into an upstairswindow； tortoises nearly the size of a small fiat； monitor lizards twenty feet long baskingbeside desert highways in western australia。 alas； they are gone and we live on a muchdiminished planet。 today； across the whole world； only four types of really hefty （a metric tonor more） land animals survive： elephants； rhinos； hippos； and giraffes。 not for tens of millionsof years has life on earth been so diminutive and tame。
the question that arises is whether the disappearances of the stone age and disappearancesof more recent times are in effect part of a single extinction event—whether； in short； humansare inherently bad news for other living things。 the sad likelihood is that we may well be。
according to the university of chicago paleontologist david raup； the background rate ofextinction on earth throughout biological history has been one species lost every four yearson average。 according to one recent calculation； human…caused extinction now may berunning as much as 120；000 times that level。
in the mid…1990s； the australian naturalist tim flannery； now head of the south australianmuseum in adelaide； became struck by how little we seemed to know about many extinctions； including relatively recent ones。 “wherever you looked； there seemed to be gapsin the records—pieces missing； as with the dodo； or not recorded at all；” he told me when imet him in melbourne a year or so ago。
flannery recruited his friend peter schouten； an artist and fellow australian； and togetherthey embarked on a slightly obsessive quest to scour the world’s major collections to find outwhat was lost； what was left； and what had never been known at all。 they spent four yearspicking through old skins； musty specimens； old drawings； and written descriptions—whatever was available。 schouten made life…sized paintings of every animal they couldreasonably re…create； and flannery wrote the words。 the result was an extraordinary bookcalled a gap in nature； constituting the most plete—and； it must be said； moving—catalog of animal extinctions from the last three hundred years。
for some animals； records were good； but nobody had done anything much with them；sometimes for years； sometimes forever。 steller’s sea cow； a walrus…like creature related tothe dugong； was one of the last really big animals to go extinct。 it was truly enormous—anadult could reach lengths of nearly thirty feet and weigh ten tons—but we are acquainted withit only because in 1741 a russian expedition happened to be shipwrecked on the only placewhere the creatures still survived in any numbers； the remote and foggy mander islandsin the bering sea。
happily； the expedition had a naturalist； georg steller； who was fascinated by the animal。
“he took the most copious notes；” says flannery。 “he even measured the diameter of itswhiskers。 the only thing he wouldn’t describe was the male genitals—though； for somereason； he was happy enough to do the female’s。 he even saved a piece of skin； so we had agood idea of its texture。 we weren’t always so lucky。”
the one thing steller couldn’t do was save the sea cow itself。 already hunted to the brinkof extinction； it would be gone altogether within twenty…seven years of steller’s discovery ofit。 many other animals； however； couldn’t be included because too little is known about them。
the darling downs hopping mouse； chatham islands swan； ascension island flightless crake；at least five types of large turtle； and many others are forever lost to us except as names。
a great deal of extinction； flannery and schouten discovered； hasn’t been cruel or wanton；but just kind of majestically foolish。 in 1894； when a lighthouse was built on a lonely rockcalled stephens island； in the tempestuous strait between the north and south islands of newzealand； the lighthouse keeper’s cat kept bringing him strange little birds that it had caught。
the keeper dutifully sent some specimens to the museum in wellington。 there a curator grewvery excited because the bird was a relic species of flightless wrens—the only example of aflightless perching bird ever found anywhere。 he set off at once for the island； but by the timehe got there the cat had killed them all。 twelve stuffed museum species of the stephens islandflightless wren are all that now exist。
at least we have those。 all too often； it turns out； we are not much better at looking afterspecies after they have gone than we were before they went。 take the case of the lovelycarolina parakeet。 emerald green； with a golden head； it was arguably the most striking andbeautiful bird ever to live in north america—parrots don’t usually venture so far north； asyou may have noticed—and at its peak it existed in vast numbers； exceeded only by thepassenger pigeon。 but the carolina parakeet was also considered a pest by farmers and easilyhunted because it flocked tightly and had a peculiar habit of flying up at the sound of gunfire（as you would expect）； but then returning almost at once to check on fallen rades。
in his classic american omithology； written in the early nineteenth century； charleswillson peale describes an occasion in which he repeatedly empties a shotgun into a tree inwhich they roost：
at each successive discharge； though showers of them fell； yet the affection of thesurvivors seemed rather to increase； for； after a few circuits around the place； they againalighted near me； looking down on their slaughtered panions with such manifestsymptoms of sympathy and concern； as entirely disarmed me。
by the second decade of the twentieth century； the birds had been so relentlessly huntedthat only a few remained alive in captivity。 the last one； named inca； died in the cincinnatizoo in 1918 （not quite four years after the last passenger pigeon died in the same zoo） andwas reverently stuffed。 and where would you go to see poor inca now？ nobody knows。 thezoo lost it。
what is both most intriguing and puzzling about the story above is that peale was a lover ofbirds； and yet did not hesitate to kill them in large numbers for no better reason than that itinterested him to do so。 it is a truly astounding fact that for the longest time the people whowere most intensely interested in the world’s living things were the ones most likely toextinguish them。
no one represented this position on a larger scale （in every sense） than lionel walterrothschild； the second baron rothschild。 scion of the great banking family； rothschild was astrange and reclusive fellow。 he lived his entire life in the nursery wing of his home at tring；in buckinghamshire； using the furniture of his childhood—even sleeping in his childhoodbed； though eventually he weighed three hundred pounds。
his passion was natural history and he became a devoted accumulator of objects。 he senthordes of trained men—as many as four hundred at a time—to every quarter of the globe toclamber over mountains and hack their way through jungles in the pursuit of newspecimens—particularly things that flew。 these were crated or boxed up and sent back torothschild’s estate at tring； where he and a battalion of assistants exhaustively logged andanalyzed everything that came before them； producing a constant stream of books； papers； andmonographs—some twelve hundred in all。 altogether； rothschild’s natural history factoryprocessed well over two million specimens and added five thousand species of creature to thescientific archive。
remarkably； rothschild’s collecting efforts were neither the most extensive nor the mostgenerously funded of the nineteenth century。 that title almost certainly belongs to a slightlyearlier but also very wealthy british collector named hugh cuming； who became sopreoccupied with accumulating objects that he built a large oceangoing ship and employed acrew to sail the world full…time； picking up whatever they could find—birds； plants； animalsof all types； and especially shells。 it was his unrivaled collection of barnacles that passed todarwin and served as the basis for his seminal study。
however； rothschild was easily the most scientific collector of his age； though also themost regrettably lethal； for in the 1890s he became interested in hawaii； perhaps the mosttemptingly vulnerable environment earth has yet produced。 millions of years of isolation hadallowed hawaii to evolve 8；800 unique species of animals and plants。 of particular interest torothschild were the islands’ colorful and distinctive birds； often consisting of very smallpopulations inhabiting extremely specific ranges。
the tragedy for many hawaiian birds was that they were not only distinctive； desirable； andrare—a dangerous bination in the best of circumstances—but also often heartbreakinglyeasy to take。 the greater koa finch； an innocuous member of the honeycreeper family； lurkedshyly in the canopies of koa trees； but if someone imitated its song it would abandon its coverat once and fly down in a show of wele。 the last of the species vanished in 1896； killedby rothschild’s ace collector harry palmer； five years after the disappearance of its cousin thelesser koa finch； a bird so sublimely rare that only one has ever been seen： the one shot forrothschild’s collection。 al