Great Auk

The Great Auk is a cryptid in the form of a species, Alca impennis, believed to be extinct. It was originally classified by Swedish biologist Carl von Linné in 1758, most were killed by settler’s dogs, and the last reported pair was killed by an Icelandic fisherman in 1844. It was a large flightless penguin-like bird from Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and Norway. Despite being officially declared extinct, there have been several sightings of them since then. In 1867 residents of Greenland supposedly captured and ate a Great Auk. There were several sightings from the 1920s and 1930s in Norway, but investigations declared these were penguins imported by whalers. Despite supposedly living past its original date of extinction, most now believe they are truly gone now.

Citations:

Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers. United Kingdom, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2016.