The dodo bird went extinct primarily due to human activities and the ecological disruptions they caused after the bird's discovery on Mauritius island in the Indian Ocean. Key factors include:
- Hunting by Humans: The dodo was discovered by Portuguese sailors around 1507 and later encountered by Dutch settlers. Because the dodo had evolved without natural predators, it was unafraid of humans and easy to catch, making it an easy source of fresh meat for sailors and settlers
- Habitat Destruction: As humans settled on Mauritius, they cleared forests for settlement and travel, destroying the dodo’s natural habitat. This deforestation reduced the available food and nesting areas, pushing dodos into smaller, less suitable regions
- Introduction of Invasive Species: Humans brought nonnative animals such as pigs, rats, dogs, cats, and macaques to Mauritius. These invasive species preyed on dodo eggs and competed for food resources. Since dodos nested on the ground and had no evolved defenses against such predators, their reproductive success plummeted
- Biological Vulnerabilities: The dodo was flightless with small wings, evolved due to the absence of predators, which prevented it from escaping threats. It also had a slow reproductive rate, typically laying only one egg at a time, making population recovery difficult after losses
The combined effects of overhunting, habitat loss, and invasive species led to the dodo’s extinction within less than a century after its discovery, with the last widely accepted sighting around 1662 and extinction estimated by about 1700
. In summary, the dodo’s extinction was a direct consequence of human colonization and the ecological changes it brought to Mauritius, illustrating the fragility of island ecosystems when exposed to new threats
