Natural History Wanderings

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The dodo (Rhaphus cucullatus) was more of a survivor than its popular stereotype as clumsy and stupid. In a recent journal article in The Holocene scientists examined the extreme conditions that caused the death of some 500,000 animals on island of Mauritius during the mid-Holocene around 4000 years ago. The Dodo survived in part due to its large size and inability to fly. It was well adapted to the island and had no predators which may be why it lost its ability to fly and never felt a need to flee. It was its inability to flee that resulted in its extinction by humans and human introduced predators. Read more at Smithsonian Science Dodo bird a resilient island survivor before the arrival of humans