The original penguin (for the great auk)

Another one in the collection of extinction-awareness videos that my son and I have put together; this one is for the great auk. If you haven’t read Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The sixth extinction,” you should read it for chapter 3 alone, which is a gut-wrenching and brutal description of the tragic fate of the great auk. The title of my son’s improvisation is taken from that chapter. The birds that we now call “penguins” were apparently originally named because of their similar appearance to the great auk (Pinguinus impennis) – a bird of the North Atlantic that would have been well known to European sailors. However, the great auk was unrelated to the birds that we call “penguins” today.

For background on this little project, you can read the first post here.

Kauaʻi ʻōʻō

Our extinction project continues, with a song and video for the beautiful Kauaʻi ʻōʻō. For background on this little project, you can read the first post here.

Crash of the rhinos (for the rhinoceros)

The next installment of the little extinction project that my son and I are undertaking is an improvisation aimed at telling the story of the rhinoceros, of which there are five species. All of them are vulnerable to extinction, primarily because of senseless poaching for their horns. Three subspecies have recently gone extinct. Like the other videos/songs in this project, we first spent some time learning about the species different species and the threats that they face. He then improvises a song to help “tell their story.” We then add videos and text to his performance to help educate others.

Check out the work being done at rhinos.org.

Note: this video contains some graphic images that some may find disturbing.

Puzzi la née (for the Carolina parakeet)

The next musical improvisation in our little project tells the tragic story of Puzzi la née, the Carolina Parakeet. The last known individual died on a cold February day in 1918, in the same cage where the last known Passenger Pigeon had died only four years before. Although the final extinction in the wild is a bit of a mystery, the usual factors like deforestation and overhunting were certainly major contributors.

Goddess of the Yangtze (for the Baiji)

Below is the next installment in our little project to tell the stories of extinction through musical improvisation coupled with videos and photos. This is the tragic story of the Baiji, or Yangtze River Dolphin, which in Chinese mythology was also known as the Goddess of the Yangtze. Seventy years ago there were around 6000 Baiji in the Yangtze River. Although a few unconfirmed sightings have occurred over the last 15 years, the species is likely gone.