Lord Howe Island is a unique habitat found in the middle of the Tasman Sea and is part of New South Wales, Australia. Lord Howe Island’s extinction history runs parallel to so many other unique islands around the world. It has been a World Heritage Site for over 36 years and has many unique species that can only be found on Lord Howe Island. It had 113 unique plants, approximately 800 insect species, not to mention the many bird species that have gone extinct there. As people came to Lord Howe Island on the routes from Australia to Norfolk Island, then up to the Solomon Islands, the people used the island to hunt and gather supplies. The nature, habits, and exact extinction date of the Lord Howe pigeon are unclear. Lord Howe Island was first discovered in 1788 by Captain Thomas Gilbert. His crew collected many unique birds on that initial expedition and he remarked on the birds’ tameness. He wrote that he “captured five or six dozen of the birds, almost all that he found. By breaking the legs of the birds and leaving them to cry, others were drawn to investigate, allowing his near complete capture.” One of only two paintings of the Lord Howe pigeon was created in 1790 by George Raper, who never actually visited the island. There was one other painting created in 1800. Dr. Foulis and 15 other people lived on Lord Howe Island from 1844 - 1847, and he recorded that the pigeon was “the only bird of value on the island” at that time. Although the paintings of the Lord Howe pigeon are purple and green, some sailors’ journals said the birds were large and blue. The last recorded sighting of the Lord Howe pigeon was in 1853. No specimens of this bird were ever obtained or preserved. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Lord Howe pigeon would not be a candidate for the de-extinction process because no specimens of it were ever preserved. It only exists in a painting created by George Raper in 1780 and a second painting from 1800 and a few diaries referring to “large, blue pigeons” on the island. Much has been done in Lord Howe to promote conservation and fight the invaders. Groups like the Lord Howe Island Rodent Eradication Project, are seeking to find ways to eliminate rats and mice from the island. Here is a quote from the Lord Howe Rodent Eradication Project about the impact of rodents on the island and what they are working on to help the Lord Howe ecosystem. “The presence of exotic rodents on islands is one of the greatest causes of species extinction in the world. Rats have already been implicated in the extinction of five endemic bird species, at least 13 species of endemic invertebrates, and two plant species on LHI. Rodents are also a recognised threat to at least 13 other bird species, 2 reptiles, 51 plant species, 12 vegetation communities, and 7 species of threatened invertebrates on the Island. Seven of these species are listed as “Critically Endangered” under NSW and Commonwealth legislation. These programs complement significant achievements to date including the eradication of cats and pigs in the 1980’s, feral goats in 1999, and Myrtle Rust in 2018, a world-first. The Protecting Paradise Program was the Gold winner of the 2018 Banksia Sustainability Awards and the 2018 NSW Green Globe Awards in the Natural Environment and Regional Sustainability categories. After more than 15 years of detailed research and planning, final implementation of the Rodent Eradication Project (REP) is almost complete.” Native birds were captured while rat poison was spread throughout the habitat. Once the rats had been poisoned, the captured birds were released back into the wild. These efforts worked well. Dogs were used to eliminate any remaining rats from the island. The last reported rat on Lord Howe Island was in August of 2022. If the Lord Howe pigeon was reintroduced to Lord Howe Island, could it again thrive there? Maybe. Consider this. The Lord Howe woodhen population had been down to 15 individuals in 1980, but today there are over 800 birds.