The dodo, emblem of extinction

A giant pigeon

The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) lived only on Mauritius. Despite its looks, it was a relative of pigeons: DNA analysis points to the Nicobar pigeon as its closest living relative, and to the Rodrigues solitaire, also extinct, as its closest cousin. Flightless, it stood roughly 60 to 75 cm tall; estimates of its weight in the wild vary widely between studies, from about ten to twenty kilos.

A swift disappearance

The first written accounts date from 1598, when Dutch sailors called at the island. Less than a century later, the bird was gone. The last widely accepted sighting dates from 1662, by castaways from the Dutch ship Arnhem; a 2003 statistical study put the extinction around 1693, and the species had probably vanished before 1700.

Contrary to popular belief, hunting by sailors was probably not the main cause. Animals brought by humans, especially pigs and macaques that raided nests and competed with the dodo for food, together with habitat destruction, likely played a bigger part.

Mare aux Songes, a fossil treasure trove

For a long time the dodo was known only from a few drawings and scattered remains. That changed in 1865, when workers digging in a marsh in south-eastern Mauritius, the Mare aux Songes, turned up bones. A schoolmaster from Mahébourg, George Clark, then found many dodo bones there. The site has yielded more than 300 dodo remains, now held in museums around the world.

International excavations resumed in 2005. Researchers believe the animals became trapped in the mud about 4,200 years ago, during a severe drought, while searching for water.

A national symbol

The dodo has appeared on the Mauritian coat of arms since 1906, alongside a deer, each holding a stalk of sugar cane. It became famous worldwide through Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and today it is everywhere in the island's crafts and souvenirs.

Where to see it

The National History Museum in Mahébourg holds a near-complete dodo skeleton, as well as remains of the Rodrigues solitaire. The Natural History Museum in Port Louis also features the dodo. Abroad, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History keeps the only head and foot with preserved soft tissue.

A lesson for today

The dodo's story explains why Mauritius invests so much in protecting its endemic wildlife: the kestrel, the pink pigeon and the echo parakeet were saved only just in time.