
Charles Darwin, Tortoise Hunter? - Thevet
http://blog.yalebooks.com/2019/11/18/charles-darwin-tortoise-hunter/
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gatherhunterer
This article leaves out some important information. Killing animals was a key
component of biological study. There were no cameras so bringing back a
specimen was common practice. The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker was such a rare
sight that its last several sightings, all of which were killed by the
biologists who spotted them, are believed to be the last of their kind. One
man managed to drag a wagon filled with primitive audio recording equipment
through the woods and swamps to record its song. He shot the one he found
anyway. There are a few experts who believe the most recent reports of their
sightings[1] but modern day habitat destruction does not bode well for them,
if they are even there.

Furthermore, killing the local animals was a means of survival and a way of
life for sailors. The Dodo was a hapless, plump and defenseless animal that
sailors ate until they were extinct.

Both of these practices were careless and destructive but we are all products
of our environment. Explorers felt like there was no limit to what we could
discover and many believed that Earth was given to us by God to provide
endless resources.

Poor ecological practice is not ignored for the sake if hero worship, as the
article suggests. It is often left out because the topic deserves to be
handled responsibly and fairly, which the article fails to do.

1\. [https://www.audubon.org/news/possible-ivory-billed-
woodpecke...](https://www.audubon.org/news/possible-ivory-billed-woodpecker-
footage-breathes-life-extinction-debate)

