Bird of the Week!

This week, we begin a three-week series of extinct Birds of the Week. We begin with the most iconic example, the infamous dodo bird. This flightless species was native to Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. It was first documented by Dutch explorers in 1598. Unfortunately, having evolved int eh isolation of the island, dodos had no natural predators, and therefore no defense mechanism. After being exposed to the outside world, dodos went extinct rather quickly, dying out completely by the end of the 16th century. Or did they?
The dodo is often viewed as overweight, clumsy, and unintelligent, as befitting an animal that would go extinct, However, many scientists have challenged this view. It is believed that many historical depictions of dodos were from the end of the wet season, at which point the dodo would have packed on weight to help survive the coming dry season. Their perceived dim wittedness was really just a result of their lack of evolved defensive instincts, meaning they had no innate fear of humans, allowing them to be hunted with ease.