{"id":335068,"date":"2026-10-12T14:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T10:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/real-estate-mauritius.mu\/?p=335068"},"modified":"2026-10-12T14:10:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T10:10:30","slug":"dodo-mauritius-extinct-bird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/real-estate-mauritius.mu\/en\/dodo-mauritius-extinct-bird\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dodo of Mauritius: What We Really Know About the Extinct Bird"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dodo (Raphus cucullatus<\/em>) was a large, flightless ground bird found only on Mauritius. Dutch sailors first mention it in 1598, and the last confirmed sighting dates from 1662. It probably lasted a little longer, but less than a century after its discovery it was gone. No feathers or skin survive. What remains is bone, one dried head kept in Europe, 17th-century drawings, and a skeleton on display in Port Louis.<\/p>\n

What was the dodo, really?<\/h2>\n

It was a giant pigeon. Genetic studies place its closest living relative in the Nicobar pigeon, and its closest kin overall in the Rodrigues solitaire, also extinct. On an island with no land predators, its ancestors lost the ability to fly and fed on the ground.<\/p>\n

From the bones, the dodo stood roughly 63 to 75 cm tall. Its weight is less certain: studies estimate about 10.6 to 17.5 kg for a wild bird. The picture of a fat, clumsy animal comes from drawings made in Europe, probably of birds overfed in captivity. Today most researchers see it as well suited to its habitat.<\/p>\n

What it looked like in life is still uncertain. The 17th-century portraits differ widely, and only a few were drawn from a living bird.<\/p>\n

When did the dodo go extinct?<\/h2>\n

Four dates come up again and again, and it helps to keep them apart:<\/p>\n