Rama Adhikari
The death of a child could be an ordinary case for many. But for its mother, it is an irreparable loss and intolerable pain. Mother Earth has borne many children and has seen many of them going out of sight permanently. For us, it could be an ordinary incident because we are still alive. But for Mother Earth, the pain of their loss is a deep one.
The dinosaurs came and went their ways. The great auk is no longer seen. The passenger pigeons have disappeared, and the moa, the big, humble snake, has become a chapter in history. The dodo has suffered the same fate. “As dead as the dodo,” runs the saying, reminding us that the dodos have become extinct. Some say, “gone are the days of the dodo” while some other say, “going the way of the dodo.”
The dodo was a flightless bird that lived in the island of Mauritius till the end of the seventeenth century. Dutch sailors are believed to have seen them as early as 1500 AD. But the dodos completely went out of sight by the year 1681. Whatever is available today is the skeleton of the dead bird in some European museums like the Natural History Museum, Ireland and Oxford University Museum of Natural History, England. A Dodo egg is on display at the East London Museum in South Africa. The first batch of the dodo bone was discovered in Mare aux Songes, the Mauritius swamp.
There are many speculations about the name of the bird. David Quammen, a European researcher considers the idea that the name came from the two-note sound of the bird ‘doo–doo.’ Some other believe that the name comes from a Portugese word ‘doudo’ meaning a “fool” for the reason that the bird was not afraid of humans and would not run. Hence it could be easily caught.
What the dodo looked like, or what its family size was, has been derived from its surviving skeleton. The photographs or the painting of the living dodos are not available. Scientists believe that a dodo stood about a meter tall, and weighed about 20 kilograms. It had grayish feathers and a bill as long as 23 centimeters with a hooked point. Its wings were small, and legs stout yellow. A tuft of curly feathers grew at its rear end, and raised a little high like that of a cock.
It is believed that the dodo descended from flying ancestors. Scientists believe that they descended from their African ancestors that flew to the island of Mauritius when they lost their ways. Some believe that the dodos are the descendents of pigeon-like birds that lived around the Nicobar island in the Southeast Asia. Though it was far larger and heavier in size and weight, it is believed to be a close relative of pigeons, parrots and doves. Though its ancestors could fly, the dodo found no need for flying in Mauritius because it did not have any natural threat, and its food, basically the fruits could be available without flying. It ate fruits and nested on the ground.
There is a belief that the dodos ate large stones. The Dutch sailors killed the dodos for these stones that were used to sharpen their knives. One of these stones, nearly an inch and a half in length, of extremely hard volcanic type, is in the Cambridge University Museum in England. One interesting thing about the dodos is that Tambalacoque, popularly known as the dodo tree could germinate only after its seeds were swallowed by the dodo. Once the dodos went out of sight, the dodo tree has also become extinct.
How could such a wonderful bird go out of sight? Many probable reasons can be thought of. Researchers believe that the Dutch sailors, who first plundered the Mauritius island, hunted the dodos for meat. The meat of the dodo is believed to be hard and of bad taste. The sailors also introduced animals like dogs, pigs, cats, rats, and crabs into the island. These animals, particularly the pig, contributed to the extinction of the dodos. The gradual destruction of the forest by the settlers deprived the dodos of their natural food and habitat. So, they perished. Flood could be another reason for their extinction.
Extinction of birds and animal is not at all a good news. Animals and plants are interdependent, and contribute to one another’s existence. We the humans and out activities have directly or indirectly contributed to the extinction of many species like the dodo. What will happen if the fate of the dodo befalls the human beings? We should monitor our activities, and use our knowledge and resources to conserve plants, animals and the entire environment.