Resurrecting The Dodo

D For DODO

Day oF the DODO Bird

Up iN DODO´s Room

"The Dodo" by Hilaire Belloc

Oxford Museum in the background

he Dodo used to walk around,

And take the sun and air.

The sun yet warms his native ground—

The Dodo is not there!




The voice which used to squawk and squeak

Is now forever dumb—

Yet may you see his bones and beak

All in the Mu-se-um.




 From "The Bad Child´s Book Of Beasts", 1896

Extiction

The Dodo´s Extinction

Dodo Bird (Raphus cucullatus)

• This animal was about 3.3 feet (1 meter) tall.
• The bird´s average weight was between 22 and 40 pounds (10 to 18 kilograms).
• It couldn´t fly or swim!
• Most descriptions of the Dodo say that it was was grey or brown and that it had lighter, curly feathers on its tail.
• It had a beak that was green, black, and yellow.
• Its face was gray.
• It had short yellow muscular legs with black claws.
• This bird was endemic (restricted) to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, approximately 700 miles ( 1126.5408 km) east of Madagascar.

• Dutch sailors and settlers to Mauritius in 1598 were probably the first humans to see these birds.
• The Dodo Birds main food source was believed to be fruit.
• Before the appearance of humans on the island of Mauritius the Dodo bird  prospered; its habitat had no predators, plenty of food sources, and a mild climate.
• Having no predators before humans arrived, these birds had no fear of the people who came to their island to kill them.
• Contributing to the Dodo bird's rapid extiction is the fact that the females laid one egg at a time and that the settlers of Mauritius along with the animals they brought with them, especially the pig, used the eggs as a food source. 
• This flightless bird was native to the island of Mauritius near Madagascar.