The Dodo Factual Report

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The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a large, flightless bird native to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that became extinct in the late 17th century. The Dodo was first discovered by Portuguese sailors in 1598. It is estimated that by 1693, all Dodos had been killed by hungry sailors, their domesticated animals, and other invasive species introduced during that time. Like many animals that evolved in isolation from significant predators, the Dodo was entirely fearless of humans. Mistaking its lack of fear for a lack of intelligence, the sailors called the bird the "dodo" from the Portuguese "doudou," meaning "simpleton." This fearlessness along with its inability to fly made the Dodo an extremely easy prey for humans. When humans first arrived on Mauritius, they introduced other animals, including dogs, pigs, cats, rats, and Crab-eating Macaques, which plundered the Dodo nests. At the same time, humans destroyed the Dodo's habitat forests; the impact these introduced animals, especially the pigs and macaques, had on the Dodo population is currently considered as more severe than the impact of hunting. The extinction was not immediately noticed, and some considered it a mythological creature until the 19th century, when research was conducted on surviving remains of four specimens brought to Europe in the 17th century. Since then, a large amount of sub-fossil material has been collected from Mauritius, mostly from the Mare aux Songes swamp. The extinction of the Dodo within a century of its discovery called attention to the previously unrecognized human involvement in extinction. The dodo was an extremely odd looking and unique creature which was only known to humans for less than a century after its discovery. This is mainly due to hunting for sport as well for survival, the introduction of feral species into the ecosystem of Mauritius and the destruction of

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