Biology:Booming Ben
 Alfred Otto Gross holding Booming Ben | |
| Species | Tympanuchus cupido cupido |
|---|---|
| Hatched | c. 1924 Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | Last spotted in March 11, 1932 (aged 7–8) |
| Known for | Last known Heath Hen |
Booming Ben (c. 1924 – March 11, 1932) was the last confirmed heath hen, a subspecies of the greater prairie chicken.[1] He was last spotted on Martha's Vineyard in the US state of Massachusetts on March 11, 1932.[2] His death marked the extinction of the heath hen.[3]
Background
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]
Death
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 an 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]
See also
- List of individual birds
- Endling
- George (snail), the last known Achatinella apexfulva
- Incas (parakeet), last known Carolina parakeet
- Lonesome George, the last known male Pinta Island tortoise
- Martha (passenger pigeon), the last known passenger pigeon
- Sudan (rhinoceros), the last known male Northern White rhinoceros
- Toughie (frog), the last known Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Blalack, Catherine (May 28, 2025). "Discover the Story of Booming Ben: The Last Heath Hen" (in en). https://www.fws.gov/story/2025-05/discover-story-booming-ben-last-heath-hen.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Heath Hen" (in en-US). https://bellevuebotanical.org/heath-hen/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Heisman, Rebecca (March 2, 2016). "The Sad Story of Booming Ben, Last of the Heath Hens" (in en-US). https://daily.jstor.org/last-heath-hen/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lisson, Ryan (June 17, 2020). "The Unfortunate Story of the Heath Hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido)" (in en-US). https://projectupland.com/hunting-conservation/the-unfortunate-story-of-the-heath-hen-tympanuchus-cupido-cupido/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Gross, Alfred Otto (June 28, 1930). "The Last Heath Hen". The Collecting Net 5 (33): 54-55. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/55287.
- ↑ Baca, Judy (December 22, 2015). "The Heath Hen" (in en). https://johnjames.audubon.org/heath-hen.
- ↑ "Heath Hen Gone, Lives On In Art" (in en-US). March 1, 1940. p. 6. https://www.newspapers.com/image/837572893/.
- ↑ Traskos-Hart, Talia (November 8, 2024). "Book talk honors Booming Ben’s story". https://bowdoinorient.com/2024/11/08/book-talk-honors-booming-bens-story/.
- ↑ "Scientist Convinced Vineyard Heath Hen Is Now Extinct" (in en-US). March 30, 1933. p. 5. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1266345224/.
- ↑ "One hundred dollars reward" (in en-US). March 7, 1934. p. 2A. https://www.newspapers.com/image/577520009/.
- ↑ "The Heath Hen and Other Early Ornithological Films of Alfred Otto Gross" (in en). August 3, 2018. https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2018/10/the-heath-hen-and-other-early-ornithological-films-of-alfred-otto-gross.html.
- ↑ Todd, Mindy (November 19, 2024). "The Last Heath Hen" (in en). https://www.capeandislands.org/show/the-point/2024-11-19/the-last-heath-hen.
- ↑ Hull, Olivia (July 23, 2012). "Booming Ben the Heath Hen Visits Camp" (in en). https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2012/07/23/booming-ben-heath-hen-visits-camp.
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