by J.L. Eck

Created on: September 08, 2009   Last Updated: January 23, 2010

A flightless fowl, large in size and odd in appearance, once lived on the island of Mauritius.  It was not an Ostrich, or an Emu.  Nor was it a Penguin or a Giant Coot.  It was called the Dodo, or Raphus cucullatus. 

This was indeed a large bird, weighing in near 50 pounds.  It rummaged through the forests of Mauritius eating fruits and vegetation and was said to have been seen fishing along the shore.  The large, funny-looking fowl was first spoken of by sailors who visited the island in the 1500's.  It is popularly believed that the name Dodo is of Portuguese origins derived from a word meaning crazy, or fool.  There are others who believe that the Dutch gave this strange species its common name.

Dutch and Portuguese sailors, who considered the Dodo food, frequented the island of Mauritius during the 16th and 17th centuries while on route through the Indian Ocean, and eventually settled the island.  They brought with them livestock, pets, and stowaways from other lands.  Some of such animals were dogs, pigs, rats, and macaques.  The giant bird had no natural predators, so introduction of these feral animals to the island put a strain on the Dodo's peaceful existence.  The introduced species could easily plunder the Dodos' nests, which were obviously located on the ground, and were made from grass and twigs.  With the new settlers "hunting" the bird for food and the animals which they brought with them looting the Dodos' nests, the oddity of nature's very existence quickly became threatened.

As more settlers came to the island, deforestation could have also become an issue.  The cutting down of forests for construction material and farmland more than likely destroyed much of the area the Dodo called home.  Without sufficient cover, nesting and breeding would have been increasingly difficult for the land-dwelling bird.  The strains to nesting and breeding habits would have been the final nails in the coffin for the unusual species.  Reports of the feathered phenomenon's extinction have ranged from the last known sighting in 1662 to the decade preceding 1700A.D.

Regardless of the exact date of extinction, the Dodo is one of the first recorded examples of the destruction of a species by mankind.  Records of contact with the exotic fowl show that in little than more than 100 years, the Dodo was effectively eliminated by hunting, introduction of feral species, and deforestation.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo

http://www.yenra.com/dodo-bird/

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