Extinction happens and Robert Dobbs with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the ivory-billed woodpecker is among nearly two dozen birds, fish, and other species that have now been declared extinct. In fact says Dobb, “The ivory-billed woodpecker has not been documented in Louisiana since 1944.”
Dobbs says the last confirmed siting of the bird was in the Tensas River area in northeastern Louisiana. The bird’s extinction designation this week comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dobbs says bird lovers haven’t given up altogether on trying to find the ivory-billed woodpecker since its mid-1940s disappearance, but haven’t had any luck. “There have been a few reports over the years here and there, there has been a fair amount of searching,” said Dobbs, but there’s been no further confirmation of the ivory-billed woodpecker’s continued existence.
Dobb says efforts need to be focused on making sure other species of birds and other animals don’t disappear from the planet. He says, “We need to be working to ensure that organisms, animals and plants that are declining, that they never get to this point.”
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