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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鈥攚hether； 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。 鈥渨herever you looked； there seemed to be gapsin the records鈥攑ieces missing； as with the dodo； or not recorded at all；鈥潯e 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鈥檚 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鈥攚hatever 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鈥攁nd； it must be said； moving鈥攃atalog 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鈥檚 sea cow； a walrus…like creature related tothe dugong； was one of the last really big animals to go extinct。 it was truly enormous鈥攁nadult could reach lengths of nearly thirty feet and weigh ten tons鈥攂ut 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。
鈥渉e took the most copious notes；鈥潯ays flannery。 鈥渉e even measured the diameter of itswhiskers。 the only thing he wouldn鈥檛 describe was the male genitals鈥攖hough； for somereason； he was happy enough to do the female鈥檚。 he even saved a piece of skin； so we had agood idea of its texture。 we weren鈥檛 always so lucky。鈥�
the one thing steller couldn鈥檛 do was save the sea cow itself。 already hunted to the brinkof extinction； it would be gone altogether within twenty…seven years of steller鈥檚 discovery ofit。 many other animals； however； couldn鈥檛 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鈥檛 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鈥檚 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鈥攖he 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鈥攑arrots don鈥檛 usually venture so far north； asyou may have noticed鈥攁nd 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鈥檚 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鈥攅ven 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鈥攁s many as four hundred at a time鈥攖o every quarter of the globe toclamber over mountains and hack their way through jungles in the pursuit of newspecimens鈥攑articularly things that flew。 these were crated or boxed up and sent back torothschild鈥檚 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鈥攕ome twelve hundred in all。 altogether； rothschild鈥檚 natural history factoryprocessed well over two million specimens and added five thousand species of creature to thescientific archive。
remarkably； rothschild鈥檚 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鈥攂irds； 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鈥櫋olorful and distinctive birds； often consisting of very smallpopulations inhabiting extremely specific ranges。
the tragedy for many hawaiian birds was that t