 Statue of Booming Ben by Todd McGrain | |
| Species | Tympanuchus cupido cupido |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Hatched | c. 1924 Martha’s Vineyard |
| Died | Last spotted in March 11, 1932 |
| Known for | Last known Heath Hen |
Booming Ben was the last confirmed heath hen. [1] He was last spotted on Martha's Vineyard on March, 11, 1932. [2] Booming Ben's death allegedly marks the first time conservationists witnessed the extinction of a species. [3]
Heath hens experienced significant population decline due to hunting practices during the colonial period, [4] [5] with all remaining birds on Martha's Vineyard by 1870, despite their prior range across the East Coast of the United States. [3] Ornithologists began tracking the population in 1908. [5] With conservation efforts, the population grew from 100 to around 2,000 by 1916. However, a 1916 fire dropped the population down to 150, [6] with many of the surviving birds being male. [3] [5] The following years included a particularly harsh winter, followed by spread of disease among the Heath hen population. Additionally, the small population led to inbreeding, resulting in genetic issues that left many birds infertile. [4] In 1925, the Federation of the Bird Clubs of New England proffered $2,000 annually toward conservation efforts. However, by the beginning of 1927, only 11 males and 2 females remained. By the fall of 1928, only two males remained, with only Booming Ben surviving as of December of that year. [5]
Despite his name, Booming Ben was silent in the final years of his life. [5] Gross attempted to mate Booming Ben with a Wisconsin prairie chicken to no avail. [7] Many expected him to die before 1930. [5] Before Ben's death, American ornithologist Alfred Otto Gross of Bowdoin College and American conservationist Thornton W. Burgess attached a identification tag to his leg. [3] [8] Booming Ben was last seen on March 11, 1932. [2] After failing to appear for multiple seasons, Gross offered a $100 reward for the recovery of Ben's body. [9] [10]
Footage of Booming Ben recorded by Alfred Otto Gross in the early 1930s was digitized in 2017; it is available from the Bowdoin College special collections. [11]
Booming Ben has been memorialized in the 2024 children's book The Last Heath Hen: An Extinction Story, written by Christie Palmer Lowrance and illustrated by Michael Berndt. [1] [12] Additionally, a sculpture of Booming Ben has been erected where he was last seen off a bike path in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest. It is one of five statues as a part of Todd McGrain's Lost Bird Project. [13]