Museum unveils model of extinct Great Auk

Models of two species of flightless birds that once inhabited Gorham’s Cave have gone on display in the Gibraltar Museum.
The Great Auk, a flightless bird, became extinct in the mid-19th century, while Little Auks were once common here but are now only very rarely seen this far south.
Professor Clive Finlayson, the Museum’s Director, gave the Minister for Heritage Dr John Cortes the first introduction to the exhibit yesterday.
“It was an amazing bird, look at the size of it, my goodness it is spectacular,” said the Professor of the Great SAuk.
“The Great Auk and Little Auks will go on display now and we will be bringing other specimens,” he added.
The auks are not taxidermy but synthetic enabling them to endure the open air.
“There are a lot of penguins [another flightless bird] in the Southern Hemisphere because there are no predators in Antarctica, no polar bears or foxes,” Dr Cortes told the Chronicle.
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