EXTINCTION FACTS IN A STORY/POEM PART 1

Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Fly
(image from wikipedia)
Billy was a little boy who grew up in the California town of Colton
He loved being outside when the sun shone down in rays of golden
He visited the old sand dunes there, but hated the flies

Buzzing all about him;  into his ears and passed his eyes
His mom said stay away from the bugs there;  because they carry much disease
If all the flies disappeared, young Billy would be quite pleased.
He formulated a detailed plan and crafted a crafty plot
To destroy all the Flower-loving flies in the dunes, he’d do what he ought

Billy formulated a plan and went to enlist his friends
To be sure the Delhi Sands fly would come to an end
He posted a sign on the edge of the dune
That boasted that flies would be gone soon
He’d pay each neighborhood kid to swat every fly
That is how he’d make sure they all died.
He gleefully skipped down the street
And thought of no buzzing and how it’d be sweet.

Billy said good-night to his mom and walked up the stairs
Thanked God for all the creatures outside except for the Flower loving fly that buzzes and stares
He glanced at his wall and counted up the day’s tally marks
He’d killed 123 flies today in the sand dune park
That night little Billy snuggled himself into bed
“Soon there’ll be no more buzzing” was the last thing he said
As he dozed off to sleep, he thought he’d heard a small call
And blinked his eyes one more time, but saw nothing at all

Billy opened his eyes taking in a bright sunny season
Only one think kept Billy frowning but what was the reason?
He saw one of those loud buzzing flower flies fly round his head
And just as it landed about to be squish, squashed dead
Billy slipped off his shoe and pulled in back to whack it
The fly blurted out a simple question asking why Billy would attack it
He said flies were no good and they weren’t really needed
“Please listen to me first Billy,” the little fly pleaded

The fly cleared his throat, all tiny and dry
And began to tell Billy why he should not kill the fly
“Do you know how many animals people have caused to go extinct?”
“And how many more creatures lives were on the brink?
The fly continued, “You will never see certain creatures in the wild or in a zoo”
I will tell you about a few then you can do to me what you need to do.
Some beasts have vanished from the earth because nobody noted
From hunting, diseases, and foreign invaders that joined those who sailed and boated.

Our first tale of extinction is the most noted and famous
Took place on the African island called Mauritius
This story is of the dodo a bulky turkey sized bird
It had a stout body, fat beak, short legs, and little wings so absurd
The Dutch found them first round 1598
And there were many things that sealed the dodo bird’s fate.
They didn’t taste good so weren’t often consumed
But the rats that stowed away on the Dutch ships were what sealed their doom.
Along with the concealed rats the Dutch brought pigs for the sailors to eat
But these hungry critters found dodo eggs to eat
The dodo couldn’t fly and had nowhere to run
The last dodo bird died in the year 1681.

For the great auk of the frozen north sailors would be their demise
For they too had stumpy wings and not one could fly
They nested on many islands like the Islands of Baffin and Funk
Hungry explorers would stop by the beaches and hit the auks with a thunk
When the Vikings first sailed there were more than a million
But more hungry sailors stopped by for the tummy fillin'
Some Auks hid near Iceland high on cliffs inaccessible and shear
But sadly to say the rock fell into the ocean like a tear
Great auks were tasty, had good eggs and their feathers made fluffy pillows
And finally in 1852 their number hit zeroes

Another unique animal died off in the icy north seas
Because they were gentle and curious and killed with great ease
The Steller's Sea Cow was discovered by sailors who crashed and got stranded
On Commanders Island where Stellar studied nature and Vitus Bering commanded
In 1741 the men found this fascinating creature
About 30 feet long, tiny head, and a curious nature
The sailors used it meat and for high quality lamp oil
For butter for toast because their fat didn’t spoil
It was known to man for only 27 years
Until in 1768 the last Stellar's Sea Cow too, disappeared

 Additional Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Sands_flower-loving_fly
(Resource about the Dehli Sands Flower Loving Fly)

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