Humans Not Solely To Blame For Passenger Pigeon Extinction

sciencehabit (1205606) writes When the last passenger pigeon died at a zoo in 1914, the species became a cautionary tale of the dramatic impact humans can have on the world. But a new study finds that the bird experienced multiple population booms and crashes over the million years before its final demise. The sensitivity of the population to natural fluctuations, the authors argue, could have been what made it so vulnerable to extinction.

Comments

Regardless of any 'sensitivities'...

[nwaack]

...we humans still hunted the crap out of it with absolutely no regard to the future of the species. I'd still say it was our fault.

Re:Regardless of any 'sensitivities'...

[TapeCutter]

Yep, they survived multiple population crashes for a million years.

Re:Regardless of any 'sensitivities'...

[Stargoat]

No.

Humans poisoned the crap out of it with absolutely complete regard for the future of the species. Passenger Pigeons were regarded as a menace by early settlers, like locust. And like locust, they were eliminated. Yes, Passenger Pigeons were hunted, and yes, the last few thousand were likely killed by hunters. But the first 100,000,000 million were poisoned or had their trees cut down.

Here come the misanthropes

[Anonymous Coward]

How DARE someone say humans aren't to blame!

You ALWAYS do

[aepervius]

There are not many scenario. You always survive population boom and crash until the last crash which you do not survive, interspersed with maybe a few stable periods. Omnes vulnerant, ultima necat.