The dodo is an iconic extinct bird that lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Dodos were flightless birds around 1 meter tall weighing about 23 kg. They had grey plumage, a 23 cm bill, tiny wings, stout yellow legs, and a tuft of curly feathers high on their rear ends.
Dodys went extinct less than 100 years after their discovery in 1598. The conventional wisdom is that Dutch sailors killed the naive Dodos for easy food when they colonized Mauritius. But is this telling of the dodo’s demise accurate? Were the Dutch solely to blame for the extinction of the dodo? Let’s investigate this issue further.
When Were Dodos Discovered?
Dodys were endemic to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius had no indigenous human population. The first humans to set foot on Mauritius were Arabic sailors in the Medieval period. The oldest dodo bones found by archaeologists date back to at least 3,000 years ago.
The first European discovery of Mauritius was by the Portuguese in 1507. The Portuguese did not colonize Mauritius at the time. Mauritius appeared on Portuguese maps by 1511 and was named “Cerne” and “Ilha do Cerno” after its population of fat dodos.
The Dutch were the first to colonize Mauritius, starting in 1598. Dutch sailors first recorded the dodo in 1598 during the first Dutch expedition to the island. Dutch documents from this early colonial period referred to the bird as the “walgvogel”, meaning “repulsive bird”.
So in summary, dodos evolved in isolation on Mauritius over thousands of years. They were well-established by the time the island was discovered by humans just over 500 years ago.
What Was the Cause of the Dodo’s Extinction?
The dodo went extinct quite rapidly after human discovery – within less than 100 years. What were the reasons behind the dodo’s sudden demise? There were likely multiple factors at play:
Hunting by Humans
When Dutch sailors first arrived, the dodos had no fear of humans. Sailors could walk right up to them and kill them easily. Dodos were hunted heavily for their meat. Their predator-naive behavior made them easy prey.
However, hunting alone doesn’t fully explain their extinction. Dodos survived over 100 years of intermittent human hunting before dying out. Hunting may have decimated populations but other factors must have been involved.
Habitat Destruction
The Dutch introduction of sugar plantations and non-native species destroyed the dodo’s forest habitat. Deforestation and invasive species reduced food availability and nesting sites. Habitat loss exacerbated population declines.
Invasive Species
Pigs, rats, and macaques introduced by humans competed with dodos for food and preyed on dodo eggs. Pigs uprooted the forest understory and prevented regeneration. Predation and competition from invasive species further strained dodo numbers.
Natural Disasters
Mauritius suffered a severe cyclone in 1638 followed by a drought. The remaining dodo population was too small to recover from this one-two punch of natural catastrophe. The 1638 drought/cyclone dealt the final blow.
How Quickly Did Dodos Go Extinct?
Dodos existed on Mauritius for over 3,000 years before going extinct shortly after Dutch settlement in 1598. Exact extinction dates are debated but it was likely between 1650 and 1690:
- 1638 – Severe cyclone hits Mauritius after decades of Dutch hunting
- 1648 – Last confirmed sighting of a live dodo
- 1651 – No dodos reported on Mauritius by Dutch inspector Pieter van den Broecke
- 1681 – Dutch author Johannes Pretorius writes that dodos are extinct
- 1693 – French settler François Leguat visits Mauritius and sees no dodos
So the dodo likely survived less than 100 years after Dutch colonization of its home island before going extinct. A 2015 study of the dodo genome found low genetic diversity, indicating dodos were already in decline before human contact due to an ancient population bottleneck. Nevertheless, human activity rapidly doomed the remnants of this unique bird.
Were Humans Entirely to Blame?
Humans were the primary catalyst for the dodo’s extinction. However, both natural and human factors contributed to their demise:
| Human Causes | Natural Causes |
|---|---|
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Without human colonization, the dodo would have continued thriving despite its vulnerability to natural disasters. But it seems likely that a catastrophic storm could have eventually driven the dodo extinct even without humans.
Humans sped up the inevitable by destroying habitat, competing for resources, and hunting dodos. Our actions turned a rare natural extinction into an imminent catastrophe.
Could the Dodos Have Been Saved?
Could the dodo have been saved if humans had acted differently? Possibly, but it would have been difficult. Here are some actions that may have prevented their extinction:
Less Hunting
If Dutch sailors had not overhunted dodos and killed them solely for sport, populations may have recovered between hunting events. With strict limits, sustainable hunting was possible.
Habitat Protection
Preventing deforestation and limiting sugar plantations would have given dodos more of their natural habitat to shelter in. Protection from invasive species would have also helped.
Captive Breeding
If early Dutch colonists had captured some dodos and bred them in captivity, they may have later been able to reintroduce dodos to the wild. However, the Dutch had no knowledge of captive breeding at the time.
Translocation
Transporting dodos from Mauritius to another isolated island habitat may have saved the species. But this was not logistically feasible for 17th century sailors.
Ultimately, saving the dodo would have required precognition of conservation issues not yet understood. With hindsight, we know how humans caused the dodo’s demise. But the Dutch cannot be judged too harshly by modern standards.
Were the Dutch the Sole Cause of Extinction?
The Dutch were the colonizers who first encountered dodos and initiated major habitat changes. So they were the proximal cause for dodo extinction. But they alone are not solely responsible.
Other factors that contributed:
- Small initial population – bottleneck before Dutch arrival
- Natural disasters – cyclone and drought that killed remnants
- Lack of dodo adaptations – naivete and flightlessness
- Later French settlers – continued habitat damage after Dutch left
The dodo was already doomed by its small population and genetics. And the Dutch were not the only colonists to damage dodo habitat. So while Dutch activity drove the final extinction, many factors combined to seal the dodo’s fate.
Could the Extinction Have Been Prevented?
If Mauritius had never been settled by humans, the dodo may have survived for many more centuries. But could the dodo’s extinction have been realistically prevented after their discovery?
Unfortunately, probably not.
- Dutch had no concept of extinction or conservation at the time.
- Settler survival needs outweighed dodo protection.
- Lack of planning before colonization.
- No governmental regulations or oversight.
With hindsight, we know that invasive species should not be released and habitat should not be blindly destroyed. But sustainable conservation practices had simply not been developed yet. The dodo extinction was a tragedy but almost inevitable given the circumstances.
Perhaps if the Dutch had valued dodos as a unique resource rather than an expendable food source, actions could have been taken. But wildlife conservation ethics would not arise for another 200 years.
Could Captive Breeding Have Worked?
Captive breeding programs have saved other endangered species like the California condor. Could a captive dodo population have survived?
Perhaps, but pragmatically it may have been impossible:
- No prior knowledge of captive breeding techniques.
- Little genetic diversity to begin with.
- Limited resources for low priority species.
- Dodos may not have bred well in captivity.
One obstacle that could have been overcome was the lack of genetic diversity. By combining birds from across Mauritius, they could have created a healthy founding population.
Overall though, we cannot judge 17th century settlers by modern conservation values. With the knowledge available at the time, the sad extinction of the dodo was inevitable.
Conclusion
The dodo went extinct less than 100 years after the Dutch colonized their home island of Mauritius. Dutch sailors hunted them, destroyed their habitat, and introduced invasive species. But natural disasters and the dodo’s own genetic limitations also doomed them.
Could the extinction have been prevented with hindsight conservation practices? Perhaps, but wildlife ethics simply did not exist yet. The dodo extinction was multi-factorial. Though Dutch activities were the final death-knell, many forces combined to wipe out this singular species. We should be careful to avoid blaming early Dutch settlers solely through a modern lens.
Ultimately, the dodo is a symbol of what can happen when human expansion occurrs without foresight and conservation. The dodo extinction was humanity’s first lesson about depleting global biodiversity. Though too late for the dodo, may its demise continue inspiring us to protect species still here today.
