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A brief history of the dodo

The Dodo and other birds

A brief history of the bird dodoThe Dodo were huge birds of unknown species that existed only on the island of Mauritius which had no human habitation prior to 1598. Due to its short wings and bulky body the dodo could not fly or flee in the face of danger.

For many years people have been using the above description when referring to the Dodo. However, new research carried out in the United Kingdom has revealed two important things we did not know before about this extinct bird.

Firstly, the Dodo came from a distant family of Asian pigeons. Secondly, they were not so huge and bulky in their natural habitat as was commonly thought of. Details about the UK research can be found at the following site:

Those birds had no experience of any types of predators before the arrival of settlers in the island. They were passive creatures even when approached by human visitors for the first time. So it was with lack of fears and child-like innocence that those birds greeted the first settlers, the Dutch, in 1598.

The story of the Dodo is indeed a tragic one. Firstly, human visitors, mainly the Dutch, used to kill them for food. Those that survived became prey to animals such as pigs, rats and monkeys that had been introduced into the island by sailors. By the year 1681 the last Dodo had died. The manner in which the Dodo were obliterated from the surface of the earth has left a lasting impact on the natural history of our global eco-system: in fact a lesson in extinction to humanity. So much so, that the English expression 'As dead as the Dodo' had to be coined to emphasize the concept of total annihilation or non-existence (by death) of something, or someone, or some idea, either in the literal or abstract sense.

Also read: Dead as a duodo - Mauritius experience

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  • History of Mauritius

    Prior to 1598 there was no human habitation on the island of Mauritius. At that time it was only an indigenous habitat with dense forests, peaks and mountains, streams and rivers, and some species of birds, unique among which was the famous Dodo.

    In maps of the Middle Ages Mauritius is shown by an Arabic name 'Dina Arobi'. It is believed that Arab sailors knew the island as early as the 10th century, but they never settled there.

  • Nature History Museum and Mauritius Institute

    Most tourists visit the Museum and Institute, on Chausee St, to see the stuffed replica of the dodo, the abnormal member of a group of pigeons, which become extinct. Between 1981 and 1989, the dodo exhibits underwent extensive repairs at the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The most pristine exhibit was returned to the institute in Mauritius three years later. The dodo is the centrepiece, but there are stuffed representations of other extinct birds such as the Seychelles Dutch pigeon, the Bourbon crested starling, broad-billed and Mascarene parrots and the solitaire.

  • Endangered Species

    The best known representative of Mauritius birdlife was the dodo - a large, plump, flightless dove which found its docility rewarded with extinction in the late 17th century. Although the dodo has since become a stereotype for extinction, few people realise that Mauritius still posesses several incredibly rare bird species in minute numbers which are as doomed as the dodo if the present efforts at conservation cannot be sustained.

  • The Dutch Period

    Mauritius History The Dutch PeriodIn 1598 the Dutch came into the scene when Vice Admiral Vybrant Van Warwick claimed the island for the Netherlands and named it Mauritius in honour of his ruler, Prince Maurice of Nassau (Pictured on the left). However it was not until 1636 that the Dutch established the first settlement on the southeast coast of the island where they built the first harbour. Today that location is part of one of the major flourishing towns of the country, called Mahébourg.

  • Bank of Mauritius (Port Louis)

    Bank of Mauritius which is the Central Bank of the Republic of Mauritius. Standing at the centre of the Mauritian financial system, the Bank is committed to promoting and maintaining monetary and financial stability as its contribution to a healthy economy.

    The Bank of Mauritius is committed to increasing awareness and understanding of its activities and responsibilities, across both general and specialist audiences alike. Information about the BOM including its monetary policy and other functions.

  • Kinds of Birds

    The pink pigeon was once found all over Mauritius but now its habitat is restricted to the wet upland forests of the southwest. Feral cats, monkeys and rats brought about the demise of this tame and vulnerable bird. The wild population of the pink pigeon is currently greater than 250.

  • Dead as a duodo

    Dead as a duodo - Mauritius experience by mauritiusdelight travel adviser
    . . . and then God made man, but surely not exactly in his image. For when man entered the garden, he tore it limb from limb. Witness the Eden that was Mauritius.

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