The Dodo, an extinct bird
Created | Updated Jul 16, 2003
They lived on Mauritius a vulcanic island in the indian ocean just east of Madagascar. They lived there for millions of years. Dodos evolved, probably on Mauritius, from a flying bird to the friendly walking bird the first humans found. The ancestors
This first contact with humanity has been made by portuguese sailors and dutch colonists in 1598. These sailors and colonists where amused by the friendly, easy to catch birds and slaughtered them for food.
How to prepare a Dodo for diner:
-Pluck the feathers.
-Put it in a water filled pan and let it boil for a day, two for older birds.
-Then use a sharp knife to get some of the meat from the bones.
-Serve with some fruits ( mango ) to make it taste like something. Keep a few toothpicks to clean your teeth after every byte.
-Give the remainder ( probably most ) to the dogs.
If not eaten the dodo was just happy running around his island eating fruits and nuts being in the top of the food chain. The nest to lay their eggs was just a clearing on the ground. The dodo just layed one big egg each bread. There must have been scarcity at times for the bird to have a reason to store fat. They probably layed their eggs to hatch at the end of the raining season.
By the year 1681 no living dodos where spotted anymore on Mauritius. Men, inported monkeys, dogs and pigs, some escaped rats and perhaps some diseases killed all the birds. Perhaps we will see a resuscitated bird when scientists manage to collect good DNA.
Their closest relatives do live on the Nicobar islands. Another close relative the solitaire living on nearby islands is also extinct. They all genetically descent from an ancient asian pigeon.
The extinction of the dodo endangered the calvaria tree. The seeds would only sprout after digestion by a dodo. Research has proven the seeds can also be digested by turkeys, witch have been introduced to Mauritius for the replacement of the dodo.