Incas (parakeet) facts for kids
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The species as portrayed by John James Audubon in 1842. There are no known photographs of Incas or his captive group.
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| Species | Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) |
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| Sex | Male |
| Hatched | before 1885 Likely in Florida if not captive bred |
| Died | February 21, 1918 (aged at least 33) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Resting place | Unknown |
| Known for | Last known living Carolina parakeet |
Incas (born before 1885 – died February 21, 1918) was a male Carolina parakeet. He was the very last known member of his kind, an "endling". An endling is the last animal of a species. Even though some people thought they saw wild Carolina parakeets until the 1930s, Incas is often called the last one. He died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918. Interestingly, he lived in the same place where Martha, the last passenger pigeon, had died a few years earlier in 1914. Incas died about a year after his mate, Lady Jane.
Contents
Incas: The Last Carolina Parakeet
Why Carolina Parakeets Disappeared
The Carolina parakeet was the only type of parrot that lived naturally in eastern North America. Early explorers said there were many of them. But over time, their numbers dropped a lot.
Several things caused this decline. People hunted them for their bright feathers to decorate hats. They were also caught to be sold as pets. Farmers saw them as pests because the birds would eat their crops. So, farmers would try to get rid of them. By the mid-1800s, the Carolina parakeet became very rare.
As fewer birds were left, people who cared about nature became worried. By 1900, some zoos tried to breed them to save the species. However, these efforts were not well-coordinated. Soon, the only known Carolina parakeets were those living in zoos.
Incas's Life at the Zoo
Incas arrived at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1885. The zoo hoped to start a breeding program there. He was bought with 15 other birds for $40. This amount would be like $1,200 today. Many captive parakeets were caught in Florida and sold, even to Europe.
At the zoo, Incas lived in a special birdhouse. It was built in 1875 and looked like a Japanese pagoda.
Incas and Lady Jane
Incas was eventually paired with a female bird named Lady Jane. She came to the zoo at the same time as Incas. They lived together for 32 years. They often laid eggs, but they would always roll them out of their nest. This meant the eggs never hatched.
The London Zoo once offered $400 for Incas and Lady Jane. This would be more than $10,000 today. Carolina parakeets usually laid two or three eggs once a year. Lady Jane, who was the second-to-last captive bird, died in late 1917. She was at least 32 years old.
Zookeepers said Incas became "listless and mournful" after Lady Jane died. Some time after September 1914, Incas was moved. He might have been moved after Lady Jane's death. He ended up in the same pagoda enclosure where Martha, the last passenger pigeon, had died. Just before Incas died, Cincinnati had very cold weather. It snowed, and temperatures dropped to 7 degrees Fahrenheit (about -14 degrees Celsius).
What Happened After Incas Died?
After Incas died, he was supposed to be sent to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Like Martha, he was to be sent in a block of ice. But for some reason, his skin never arrived at the museum.
It's likely Incas was preserved because his body would have been very valuable to a museum. However, records about him were not kept well. So, no one knows where his body is today. Some people think his remains might be at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History without a label. Others believe that because World War I was ending, people might have been too busy to pay close attention to the last captive parakeet.
Incas is often called the very last Carolina parakeet. But it's possible that some wild groups lived on until the 1930s. His death date is also sometimes mixed up with the date the last passenger pigeon died.
See also
- List of individual birds
