In Memory of Martha the Passenger Pigeon

100 years ago today (Sept. 1, 1914) the last Passenger Pigeon on the face of the earth died at the Cincinnati, Ohio Zoo. The pigeon was named Martha after the wife of the first president of the United States, George Washington. In the early 1800's the migrating passenger pigeon flocks were so large they would darken the day time sky for days as they passed overhead.  Passenger pigeons were the most numerous birds in North America and possibly the world in the mid-1800's until loss of habitat and over hunting led to the extinction of the species in 1914. Martha lived all of her 29 years at the Cincinnati Zoo. It's fitting that we should pause and reflect on how humans can negatively impact the natural world in such a permanent way

Martha, the last passenger pigeon.
Please check out the website www.foldtheflock.org for more information and a downloadable origami of Martha.

.