Ghosts Behind Glass: Encountering Extinction in Museums

Historian Jørgensen (The Medieval Pig) surveys museum displays of extinct animals in this thought-provoking study. Considering animals who have gone extinct since 1600 and have been collected by “their modern sepulcher: the natural history museum,” Jørgensen catalogs the storytelling methods of more than 70 exhibitions featuring skeletons, taxidermied mounts, and other remnants. She highlights the uncertainty of extinction by spotlighting sightings of animals like the Tasmanian tiger well beyond most accepted extinction dates, and interrogates the possibilities of “backbreeding” animals like the quagga back into existence (for the quagga, via selective breeding of zebras). Visiting museums in Mauritius and Japan, Jørgensen reflects on how the dodo and Japanese river otter have become symbols of heritage in their former ranges. She also discusses how virtual reality and other innovative displays, like one placing a taxidermied Cape lion in a children’s play area, allow museums to use playful interaction for emotional connection. Jørgensen closes with a look at how museums have attempted (not nearly as successfully) to make extinction of reptiles, snails, and insects as important to visitors as those of mammals and birds. Though some arguments get somewhat lost in her detailed account, they are accessibly written for non-experts. This meticulous unpacking of curatorial choices conveys the complexity of telling the extinction story even as the number of extinct species rapidly balloons. Photos. (Oct.)