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...