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)