Dictionary.com defines a dodo as “any of several clumsy, flightless, extinct birds… related to pigeons but about the size of a turkey, formerly inhabiting the islands of Mauritius, RΓ©union, and Rodrigues,” as well as “slang. a dull-witted, slow-reacting person.”
This is the legacy of the dodo, the famously-extinct bird from both history and fiction. But as TED-Ed educator Leon Claessens explains, “these misunderstood and maligned creatures” were not “poorly adapted and doomed to die off.”
Dodos were thriving survivors that became the victims of “a sudden onslaught of invasive species” caused by humans. From the video:
“In 1598, Dutch sailors came ashore on Mauritius, and the island soon became a welcome stopover for their trade ships. The sailors described natural wonders, including large numbers of birds twice as big as swans and tortoises with shells huge enough to fit 10 men. Mauritian animals hadn’t evolved to fear being hunted by humans, so they were an easy catch. Sailors ate some dodos, but this alone didn’t cause their doom.
“The Dutch sailors came with company. They brought macaques that were probably pets. They released goats and pigs on the island to establish food sources.”
“And at some point, sailors also inadvertently introduced rats. It’s thought that goats and pigs grazed and rooted through the forest understory, where dodos lived in; pigs, macaques, and rats preyed on dodo eggs and chicks; and all of them competed with dodos for resources.
“Dodos were last seen less than a century after Dutch arrival. At the time, people didn’t recognize that species could disappear. It wasn’t until a century later, in the 1790s, that a scientist conclusively demonstrated the concept of extinction. By then, many thought dodos were fake. But discoveries from digs and sparse remains helped confirm their existence.”
For more about the dodo, Dig Deeper with TED-Ed and visit the Oxford Dodo, which notes that “the last living dodo was sighted in 1662. It subsequently became an icon of human-caused extinction.”
Watch these related bird, extinction, and invasive species videos next on TKSST:
β’Β What are invasive species?
β’Β The rare kakapo, the worldβs only flightless parrot
β’ Birdsong, an animation about Hawaiiβs Kauaβi βΕβΕ
β’ The Elephant Bird Egg and rare footage of young David Attenborough
β’ Wolves: How do we solve the problem of predators?
β’Β The efficient rollercoaster flying style of the albatross
β’Β How a baby albatross encounter changed this wildlife filmmakerβs life
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