Why Did the Dodo Bird Go Extinct Real Facts About This Flightless Bird

When Dutch sailors first explored the Indian Ocean, they encountered two birds unlike any seen elsewhere – the dodo and the solitaire. Both these species were large, flightless, forest-dwelling birds. They were only found on two isolated islands in the southern Indian Ocean, with the dodo living on Mauritius and the lesser-known solitaire found on the island of Rodrigues. The discovery in 1865 of an ancient marsh called Mare aux on Mauritius has allowed scientists to reconstruct the environment in which the dodo lived. This site has provided an unprecedented insight into what the island was like before people arrived. The marshes were once lakes surrounded by wetlands and forests with tall, dense canopies dominated by Tambalacoque, also known as dodo trees, palms and screw pines (Pandanus species).

The fossil record is now revealing more about the dodo’s life history than we’ve ever known. The dodo lived close to the coast and on offshore islets, as well as in the lowlands and mountains, occupying both dry and wet forest zones. Unlike most illustrations that show a fat, ungainly bird, the dodo was actually relatively slender and quite agile, despite being among the heaviest birds known today. It had a large gizzard stone to help with digestion, which suggests it ate a diet of fallen fruits and seeds. CT scans of its braincase have revealed it had a similar intelligence level to modern pigeons. These also show that they had large and well-differentiated olfactory bulbs rather than larger optic lobes, suggesting that they relied on smell rather than sight to detect food.

Little is known of the behavior of the dodo, as most contemporary descriptions are very brief. Based on weight estimates, it has been suggested the male could reach the age of 21, and the female 17. Studies of the cantilever strength of its leg bones indicate that it could run quite fast. The legs were robust and strong to support the bulk of the bird, and also made it agile in the dense, pre-human landscape. Though the wings were small, well-developed muscle scars on the bones show that they were not completely vestigial.

We can’t state an exact date but it seems that the dodo only died-off at the end of 17th century. Until recently, the last confirmed dodo sighting on its home island of Mauritius was made in 1662, but a 2003 estimate by David Roberts and Andrew Solow placed the extinction of the bird around 1690.

The Nicobar pigeon or Nicobar dove is a bird found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Andaman and Nicobar island, India east through the Indonesian Archipelago to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus alongside the extinct spotted green pigeon and Kanaka pigeon, and is the closest living relative of the extinct dodo. The closest living look-alike, in terms of being a relative, is the colorful Nicobar pigeon though it's smaller and iridescent, while the extinct dodo was a larger cousin that looked more like a bulky dodo. Other vaguely similar birds include crowned pigeons and tooth-billed pigeons, but for a physically similar large, ground-dwelling bird (though unrelated), some might think of large, flightless birds like extinct Great Auks or even the big-billed Shoebill.

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Frequently asked questions(FAQs)

1. Why is dodo famous for?The Dodo bird is famous because it became extinct due to human activities and is now a symbol of extinction.
2. What lessons do we learn from dodo bird ?The extinction of dodo bird teaches us the importance of wildlife conservation and protecting nature.