Q.The extinction of passenger pigeon was due to:

The passenger pigeon went extinct because of human actions, not natural causes. There is no evidence that predators, food shortage, or disease drove its disappearance. Instead, large-scale hunting and habitat destruction by humans wiped out the entire population in a very short time.

• Overhunting was the primary cause — the birds were killed for meat, feathers, and sport on an industrial scale. …

The passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) once existed in enormous flocks across North America, numbering in the billions. Its sudden disappearance from the wild in the early 20th century is a classic case study in how human activity can drive even the most abundant species to extinction. The question asks you to identify the correct cause from the given options.

Option (B) — over-exploitation by humans — is the correct answer. The passenger pigeon was hunted on an industrial scale. Their meat was cheap and widely consumed, and their feathers were used for bedding. Hunters used nets, guns, and even set fire to the trees where the birds roosted, killing millions at a time. The birds nested in dense colonies, which made them easy targets. No natural predator could match this relentless, systematic slaughter.

Option (A) — increased number of predatory birds — is not supported by historical or ecological evidence. While hawks and other raptors did prey on passenger pigeons, their numbers were never high enough to cause a population collapse. The decline was far too rapid and complete for natural predation to be the cause. …

Eliminate options against the historical record: the population crash was too fast and total for predation or disease, and hunting continued even while food sourc …