September 1, 1914 - September 1, 2024: 110th anniversary of the extinction of the passenger pigeon
Featuring @nicleotidez's clone of Martha the passenger pigeon.
I will never forget what happened on September 1, even though I (obviously) wasn't even born back then.
We could have done something to stop the extinction of the passenger pigeon, but all we cared back then was to hunt them all so that they all would eventually meet their demise.
And they did. The birds fell from the sky and onto the ground.
Their flocks were so massive, they used to block the sun. Their flocks were so massive, they couldn't easily dodge all those shots aimed at them by humanity.
Even when Martha was announced to be the last one of them, no one cared. They threw sand at her, seeing if she would move or not. They ignored her, only caring about the big reward that they would get if they had successfully found a partner for her.
It was not until she passed away when humanity finally cared. They blamed themselves for not noticing the signs of extinction earlier. They blamed themselves for overhunting and deforestation. It was all useless, as the passenger pigeon was already gone.
Around a century after the passenger pigeon was discovered by those colonizers, it had already vanished - their blood staining our hands, showing us what we had done to them.
Martha, we miss you. We're sorry.
Flocks a Mile Wide - Christopher Tin
The song that inspired this artwork, composed as a tribute to the passenger pigeon.
