Dodos

Dodos are actually a distant relative of doves and pigeons but were larger and flightless.  They were first recorded in Mauritius, which is in the Indian Ocean, by Dutch sailors in 1598, however, the last sighting of one was in 1662.

Having no predators (previously there were no humans on the island) the dodos had no reason to be afraid of the sailors.  Unfortunately because they could not fly they were easy to catch for the hungry sailors.  So it was less than one hundred years from their discovery by humans before they became extinct.

Whilst there are now many people living on Mauritius no-one has ever seen Dodo .

Many creatures today are in danger of becoming extinct due to human greed and intervention or impact on the environment.