The currently accepted date of extinction of the dodo is 1693. Very rare by the 1660s, the last reported sighting may have been made either by a shipwrecked mariner in 1662 or an anonymous source in 1674. The bird may also have been hunted to provide ship provisions for long journeys home to the Netherlands, but this has not been proven.Įither way, the big bird was on the way out. As these new animals pillaged dodo nests, settlers destroyed forests where the dodo made its home. Dutch settlers brought with them such introduced species as dogs, cats, pigs, and rats. Ironically this ingrained trust probably contributed to its reputation for being a dim-witted bird. As was the way with many animals that evolved in isolation from predators, the dodo was essentially fearless. The Dodo bird became a symbol of extinction, but a symbol without a background.Įither way it was an unfortunately ignominious name for a harmless bird which met an ignominious end. At the time, their passing was of little interest – no one bothered to study the natural history of the Dodo bird, and very few specimens were preserved. Within two hundred years Dodo birds were extinct. With humans hunting them and pigs and monkeys competing for food and territory, their numbers dwindled drastically. The tame defenseless Dodo birds were no match for the newcomers. Mauritius was soon settled by the Dutch, who introduced new animals to the ecosystem. With no large predators to worry about, they lived and foraged for food on the ground – over the course of their evolution they had become large and flightless birds. km., Dodo birds lived a safe and secluded existence. When the Portuguese arrived, Mauritius was home to the Dodo bird, a bird that lived nowhere else on earth. In 1598, Portuguese sailors discovered the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean to the east of Madagascar. Alternatively, it could have been be an approximation of the bird’s call. The name dodo may derive from the Portuguese term doudo, meaning fool. But then it must be remembered it was the Portuguese who first established a colony on the island, almost a century before the Dutch. This term is first found in the journals of another Dutchman, Captain Willem van Westsanen, in 1602. Somehow walghvogel became dodo, possibly relating to the Dutch word dodaars, meaning knotted-posterior, and referring to the clump of feathers on the bird’s rear end. Other journals of the time differ, describing the flesh as tougher than pigeon, but just as palatable. Warwijck called the strange avian creature walghvogel, meaning ‘loathsome bird’ – reputedly in reference to the taste of its flesh rather than its friendly temperament. The first known description of the bird came from the journals of Wybrand van Warwijck, a Dutch Vice-Admiral who visited the island in 1598 (and in fact bestowed the name Mauritius upon it). Ornithologists are not exactly sure how it earned its name. Environmental Changes How the Dodo got its Name?.While circumstance eventually left the dodo vulnerable to extinction, evolution is not to blame for the shortsightedness of man. Still, their evolution was biologically complex, its success evidenced by the species’ carefree lifestyle, prior to the arrival of settlers at Mauritius. A species with no natural predators, given superior strength and features that could inflict damage on foreign enemies, if only it was able to recognize them as such. Overall, dodo birds were a paradox in both behavior and design-a stout, muscular breed whose attributes translated into an almost comedic appearance. Which is precisely where they built nests, foraged for food and ran about on two short legs. In fact, their physique and lack of predators allowed the dodo to truly thrive at ground-level. The development of these features ensured that flightlessness would never hinder the dodo bird, even on Mauritius’ rocky terrain. It required additional support and increased mobility, too-silent demands, answered by the development of thick leg bones, large kneecaps and a broad pelvis. Of course, a heavier frame didn’t just eliminate the dodo’s ability to fly.
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