Bird dodo: a history of extermination

The history of our planet knows many cases when some species of animals disappeared without being studied. And the dodo bird is an excellent example. Immediately make a reservation that such a species did not exist in the world! Dodo is a fairy-tale character that appeared in the book "Alice in Wonderland."

This was the name of the extinct endemic of the island of Mauritius - the Mauritius Dodo (Raphus cucullatus). About him today and talk, for convenience using his "nickname."

So, what is this bird, and why is its name associated with the Red Book and the word "extermination"?

Not too long ago, even by historical standards, the birds of the Drontov family lived on the island of Mauritius. There were no people here, the predators were also absent as a class, and therefore the dodo was extremely stupid and slow-moving.

The ability to hide hastily from danger or somehow to get food they did not have, because there was plenty of food.

It's no wonder that soon they squandered the last ability to fly, their growth began to reach a meter at the withers, and the weight was not less than 20-25 kg. Imagine the largest and fatest goose, doubled. The bird dodo possessed such a massive and heavy stomach that most of the time he simply trailed after her on the ground.

Once upon a time these birds lived alone, joining couples only during the mating season. The female laid only one egg, and therefore both parents looked after him with awe, guarding against all dangers (which were few).

The bird dodo was inhabited not only on the above island, but also at Rodriguez: both places belong to the Mascarene archipelago located in the waters of the Indian Ocean. And in Rodriguez inhabited the hermit droshk, which belonged entirely to another species.

In Mauritius, these unique birds lived until 1681, while the "hermits" were lucky to survive until the early 19th century.

As it happened, everything ended right after the appearance of Europeans on the archipelago. At first, the Portuguese, and then the Dutch thought that there was no ship's supply in the world better than the dodo.

They did not have to hunt: come closer, knock a huge turkey with a stick on the head - that's ready to stock a meat. Birds did not even run away, because their weight and gullibility did not allow it.

However, even people could not destroy as many dodo as those they brought with them: dogs, cats, rats and pigs staged a real feast, eating thousands of chicks and eggs by thousands. Bird dodo, photo of which does not exist (only pictures), very quickly proved to be almost completely destroyed.

Unfortunately, there is not even a complete skeleton of even one of the destroyed species in the whole world. The only complete set of the Mauritius Dodo was kept in the London Museum, but was burnt during a terrible fire in 1755.

It is fair to say that these birds still tried to help. Hunting was completely banned, and the surviving individuals were kept in cages. However, in captivity the extinct bird Dodo did not multiply, and rats and cats doomed to death those few dodos that were still hiding in the remote forests.

This story reminds once again of the fragility of natural habitats and the greed of a person who is too late to recapture.