From Billions to None: The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction

Gr 7 Up—Passenger pigeons were once the most abundant land bird in the world, but they were wiped out over the course of the 19th century. The last of the species died on September 1, 1914, at the Cincinnati Zoo. This stunning documentary details the history of that extinction and how humans caused it. The film features author and naturalist Joel Greenberg and his quest to bring the story of the passenger pigeon to today's students with hopes of creating strong conservationists. His stirring passion resonates throughout. Artists, conservationists, historians, biologists, and museum curators are among the experts who help spread the message and the history of the massive extinction of the exquisitely beautiful bird. Some of the highlights are on-site visits to nature preserves in Illinois and Wisconsin, behind-the-scenes visits to museums, and lifelike animation re-creating massive flying flocks that blocked the sun. The facts of the passenger pigeon's demise are utilized as a springboard to a discussion of current issues of extinction, such as that of sharks. This is an excellent program for environmental science and history classes to discuss extinction, congressional legislation such as the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act, and the controversial program of de-extinction that would use biotechnology to bring back species such as the passenger pigeon.