Dodo
The dodo, (Didus ineptus L., now Raphus cucullatus) was a large bird incapable of flying. They weighed an astounding 50 pounds and lived on the islands of Mauritius off the coast of east Africa.
The dodo became extinct in the late 1600s as a result of human activity. The birds were completely unused to people and were thus extremely easy to hunt by sailors who stopped on Mauritius. To make matters worse, rats which escaped from ships ate dodo eggs, as their nests were on the ground.[1]
The dodo has become emblematic for extinction, as in the expression "as dead as the dodo." Humorist Will Cuppy wrote, jokingly:
- The Dodo never had a chance. He seems to have been invented for the sole purpose of becoming extinct and that was all he was good for.[2]
A fictional dodo leads the Caucus-Race in Lewis Carroll's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.[3]; one of Tenniel's illustrations shows the Dodo presenting Alice with the prize of a thimble—her own thimble, as the Dodo had previously decided that Alice was responsible for providing the prizes.