9. In the Meadow of the Great Auk

Funk Island was the largest known colony of the Great Auk.

Following centuries of exploitation as food, these penguins of the North Atlantic were finally slaughtered for their down feathers for mattresses and quilts. So great was the carnage that a meadow developed from the compost of discarded auks. But nature abhors a vacuum and today the meadow is the location of numerous puffin burrows. Bill takes us on a walk in this meadow of the Great Auk and suggests some lessons to be learned from this ecological tragedy.