Why Did Dodos Go Extinct?

The last live dodo was seen in 1681 on the island of Mauritius, about 500 miles east of Madagascar. Information on the species is limited because scientists never got to study a live specimen. However, several factors undoubtedly played a part in wiping out the species.

  1. Limited Range

    • Limited range is a problem that faces contemporary endangered species and this may have contributed to the dodo's downfall. The bird was only ever seen in Mauritius, which has an area of just 788 square miles. That is just over half the size of Rhode Island, the smallest of the United States. Even in good times, only a small number of the birds could have existed in such a small area.

    Hunting

    • The Portuguese and Dutch began colonizing the island in the early 16th century. They were the first humans on the island, and dodos had no natural fear of them. They were said to be curious birds, and they would often walk straight up to people. They were also big and slow. The combination made them easy targets for hunters. Historic accounts record mass herdings of the birds for slaughter.

    Unnatural Predators

    • Humans also brought other dangers for the dodo. Non-native animals such as cats, dogs, pigs and monkeys came along with the human settlers. These animals had the run of the island and posed a threat to the eggs and chicks of the birds. The nests of dodos were located on the ground, and historic accounts say they were no more than a scratched-out depression lined with grass. They were easy food for the introduced animals.

    Natural Selection

    • The lack of any real threat to the bird for thousands, or even millions of years, meant the dodo just could not survive when humans came to the island. Dodos are related to pigeons, but never developed the power of flight. They were 3 feet tall and weighed up to 50 lbs. By the time danger came to Mauritius, the dodo had no way of protecting itself and it was wiped out. According to the American Museum of Natural History, which has the world's only dodo skeleton, the birds were forest dwellers. The lack of flight also meant they had no way to search for more food when humans started destroying their forest homes.

    No Protection

    • The dodo's plight and its eventual outcome might be different if it had survived into the 20th century. Organizations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature have existed only since the late 1940s. The dodo had no such organization to look out for its survival.