This document compares the extinct Great Auk and the endangered Vancouver Island Marmot. The Great Auk was driven to extinction by overhunting for its down in the 19th century, with the last individual being killed in 1844. In contrast, conservation efforts have helped increase the Vancouver Island Marmot population from a low of 21 individuals in 2003 through captive breeding and reintroduction programs, though it remains endangered due to habitat loss from forest clearing.

1. Extinct vs. Endangered
The Great Auk vs. the Vancouver Island Marmot.

2. What does extinct, endangered,
threatened, and extirpated mean?
— Extinct means to have no living members of your
species left.
— Endangered means to be seriously at risk of
extinction.
— Threatened means a species that is vulnerable to
becoming endangered.
— Extirpation is the extinction of an animal in a local
area.

3. An extinct animal species
that lived in Canada
— The Great Auk was found in the cold waters along the coast of
Canada, the northeastern United States and the northwest coast
of Europe. They were a food source for Neanderthals and Native
Americans.
— The reason for the Great Auk’s extinction was because
Europeans valued their down and as a result of this, almost
completely eliminated their whole population.
— Almost extinct, the last colony lived on the islet Geirfuglasker
(meaning “Great Auk Rock”) which was inaccessible to humans.
In 1930 the islet submerged because of a volcanic eruption and
the birds had to move to the nearby island of Eldey.
— The last Great Auk was strangled to death on July 3, 1844 on the
island of Eldey, off the coast of Iceland.

4. Great Auk Pictures

5. An endangered species: The
Vancouver Island Marmot
— The Vancouver Marmot is similar to
typical alpine-dwelling marmots in
its general form and physiology but it
can be easily told apart from other
marmots because of its chocolate
brown fur and contrasting white
patches.
— The Vancouver Marmot lives in
burrows and is a dedicated herbivore
eating over 30 different plant species.
— The Vancouver Marmot also
hibernates for about 210 days from
late fall to mid-spring.

6. Why are Vancouver Island
Marmots endangered?
— Forest clear-cutting and re-growing forests into man-made
habitats are unsuitable to the marmots. One 2005 study concluded
the main cause of recent decline to be predation "associated with
forestry and altered predator abundance and hunting patterns”
because of forest clear-cuts and regrowth. In this way humans are
indirectly the biggest cause for the decline in the marmot
population.
— Another reason for low Marmot numbers is because of the Allee
effect which is a theory by Warder Clyde Allee, saying that social
animals require a critical mass in order to survive, because
survival requires group activities such as warning of predators
and migration. A decline below that threshold causes rapid
reduction of numbers.
— In 2003 there were only 21 wild Vancouver Island Marmots left in
the wild making them one of the rarest mammals on earth.

7. How Vancouver Island Marmots are
being prevented from becoming extinct
like the Great Auk
— When scientists discovered that there were so few Vancouver
Island Marmots left they started a captive breeding program as
a “genetic lifeboat” for them in the Toronto Zoo. The Calgary
Zoo and Mountainview Conservation and Breeding Centre in
Langley, BC quickly followed this effort by helping to breed
more marmots. Also, The Marmot Recovery Foundation built a
dedicated facility for these animals to further facilitate captive
breeding and pre-release conditioning.
— From 2003 to 2012 the Marmot Recovery Foundation and the
B.C. Ministry of Environment have released 308 marmots back
into the wild. An expected 350-400 individuals are to be
released in 2013.
— One of the 2010 Winter Olympic mascots, MukMuk, was
portrayed to be a Vancouver Island Marmot to help bring
awareness to this species endangerment.

8. Sources
—
Info: Contributors, Wikipedia. "Vancouver Island Marmot." Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.
—
Contributors, Wikipedia. "Great Auk." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation,
20 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
—
Greak Auk Picture 1: Pennington, Mike.
—
—
—
Great_Auk_(Pinguinis_impennis)_specimen,_Kelvingrove,_Glasgow_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1108249.jpg.
2009. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow. geograph.org.uk. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
Greak Auk Picture 2: Gerrard Keulemans, John. Keulemans-GreatAuk.jpg. Before 1912. http://
rzbl04.biblio.etc.tu-bs.de. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
Vancouver Island Marmot Picture 1: Gardner, Oli.
6a010535647bf3970b01157212555f970b-800wi.jpg. 2009. http://www.zooborns.com. Web. 23 Dec.
2013.
Vancouver Island Marmot Picture 2: Hobbs, Gardener. bmava-2011-5178.jpg. 2011. http://
marmots.org. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.