The dodo bird is an extinct bird that existed only on the island o Mauritius. It is a lightless bird whose closest modern relatives are pigeons and doves. The bird is thought to have gone extinct in the 17^th century. It became known in modern media as a symbol of die-out species that were destroyed by human activities.

The bird was first sighted by Dutch explorers who discovered and named the island of Mauritius. The theories about the name of the bird vary from an approximation of the calling of the bird to other words in Portuguese and Dutch that describe its appearance or the taste of its meat. The first good description of the species was done in 1606 by a Dutch naval admiral and explorer.

The bird was about one meter tall and weighted about 20 kilograms. It ate fruits and vegetation and nested on the ground. As many other island species the bird was not accustomed to protecting itself. It had no natural enemies on the island because of its size. Moreover, the bird was completely flightless. Dodo birds were completely unafraid of people and fell easy pray to them. Nonetheless, there are many accounts describing the bad taste of the dodo meat so hunting is not attributed as a major cause for their extinction.

The main causes are destruction of their habitat and the other animals humans brought with them on their ships. People cut down the forests where the birds lived. They also brought with them dogs, pigs, cats and rats which destroyed their nests. There is also evidence about a big flood that appeared on the island during this period. It further threatened the now fragile population of the species.

The biggest find of dodo remains was found in 2005 in the part of Mare aux Songes. An international team excavated remains of birds in different parts of their lives. Their findings are exhibited in museums in South Africa, the Netherlands and Britain.

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