Monday, January 24, 2011

dodo

Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, was the only home of the dodo, a large, flightless bird that weighed up to 14 kg and was very good to eat. Dodos were an easy-to-catch source of food for sailors and settlers.
Having developed in isolation, the dodo easily fell victim to this new pressure. In addition, forest clearing destroyed the bird’s habitat, and introduced pigs, goats, cats, rats, and monkeys became competitors as well as predators.
First seen by Europeans in 1507, the dodo was extinct by 1681. Today it is represented in museums by only parts of skeletons and one complete skeleton made up of many individuals.






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