Dodo: The Bird Behind the Legend

by Alan Grihault

It took less than a hundred years of human influence in Mauritius to wipe out the Dodo. The delicate balance of nature was suddenly tipped and became a threat to the survival of the Dodo, which had reigned supreme on this island for thousands of years. For nearly two hundred years after its extinction, the Dodo was forgotten, and there were some doubts as to whether it actually lived at all. It seemed that these strange birds had only been part of the imagination and exaggeration of sailors. Today, the once remote island of Mauritius is home top over a million people of European, African, Indian and Chinese origin. It can boast of being one of the most stable democratic countries in the world and it is host to thousands of tourists who find shops full of Dodos in many forms, shapes and sizes. Yet, there is an unfortunate lack of information about this island's unique national icon. This book allows the reader to examine various eyewitness writings, drawings, paintings and skeletal remains, which depict the Dodo as it actually was, and helps us to understand how it was driven to extinction. It also traces what happened after the final demise of the bird, and how worldwide evidence was pieced together to provide a reasonable idea of how the Dodo lived and died.

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Juliet Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dodo stands as an icon of extinct species, this ungainly relative to the pigeon is possibly what most people think of when they think of historical extinctions (rather than the prehistoric extinctions which are best known through the dinosaurs).The dodo is possibly also the first thing that people think of when they think of the island of Mauritius.

This is a beautifully produced, lavishly illustrated book about the dodo. It examines the history of the human relationship with the bird and how it was driven to extinction, the details of its biology and its role as a cultural icon. It also looks at closely related species found on other islands near Mauritius.

It's a totally fascinating book and an important one to read in these times when it is becoming clearer all the time that we are entering a Sixth Great Extinction.