by David Smith

Created on: August 28, 2009   Last Updated: August 29, 2009

The dodo bird, a better than three feet tall, flightless bird weighing about 45 pounds, is currently the icon for extinct species the world over. Phrases like "dead as a dodo" and "gone the way of the dodo" are all terms that were coined because of the dodo's extinction. The dodo had a long bill (almost nine inches) with a hooked point, very small wings, stout yellow legs, grey plumage, and a tuft of curly feathers at its rear end. The fact that the dodo was made extinct by humans is part of the reason that it is so recognizable as the icon for extinction. Another reason for the dodo being the icon of extinction is the feature of the animal in Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland". The last, and most prevalent reason for this iconic bird representation of extinction is that it was forced into extinction during the mid to late 17th century, which meant that we had records of the fall of the dodo bird.

The dodo was first found on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean in 1958 by vice-admiral Wybrand van Warwijck. This was when the admiral named the island as well. The Dutch referred to the bird as Walghvogel (wallow bird or loathsome bird). Prior to this point, the island was devoid of significant predators, thus when the humans arrived on the island, the dodo bird was not afraid of them. It is believed that this lack of fear and the inability of the bird to fly both made it easy prey for humans, thus escalating the extinction of the bird.

When the humans came to the island, they brought with them other animals, such as pigs, rats, cats, pigs, and crab-eating macaques. These animals took care of the dodo bird nests, and the humans engaged in cutting down or otherwise destroying the forests in which the dodo bird made their homes. it is widely believed that the animals did far more damage than the humans did to cause the extinction of the dodo bird. A 2005 expedition also found evidence of flash floods which probably aided in killing off the, what was widely believed to be, endangered bird. However, even though reports say that the meat of the dodo bird was either not tasty or just plain tough, there have been remains found that would suggest that the birds were indeed hunted and ate by humans, particularly slaves and convicts on the island.

The actual date of the extinction of the dodo is a topic that is debatable. There are reports of the extinction of the dodo being dated with the last confirmed sighting in 1662, reported by a shipwrecked mariner Volkert Evertsz. There are also sources that suggest the date to be 1681. This report is believable due to a reported sighting in 1674, well after Evertsz report of 1662. The hunting records of an Isaac Johannes Lamotius, however, gives the estimated date of extinction as 1693, or at least in the range of 1688 to 1715. Whichever is the truth may never be known, but one thing is for certain. From the date that the dodo was first sighted and seemed to be plentiful until the reported dates of its extinction, largely due to man's interference, was just over one hundred years.

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