The dodo became extinct in the 1600 s

The dodo became extinct in the 1600 s. GCSE activity Animals become extinct because of: • changes to the environment • new predators • new diseases • new competitors Which of these reasons was to blame for the extinction of the dodos? © Snapshot Science, 2010

GCSE activity Why did the dodo become extinct? The dodo was a flightless bird around 1 m in height that lived on the island of Mauritius. Dodos had never encountered humans before they arrived on the island so were not fearful of them. This meant that they were easy to catch, and some were eaten, although reports from the time suggested that they were not very tasty. Mauritius However, the first settlers on the island brought with them new animals to the island such as dogs, pigs, cats and rats. These animals raided the dodo’s nests (which were on the ground) and ate the eggs. Humans also destroyed the forests where the dodos lived in order to build homes and create farmland. An expedition to Mauritius in 2006 aimed to find more out about the dodo and how it became extinct. A mass grave full of the remains of many different animals, including the dodo, was found. Scientists dated it to around 500 years old, before the settlers came to the island, and suggested that the cause was a flash flood, cyclone or some other natural disaster. The fact that the numbers of dodos living on the island was already depleted by this event, may have contributed to its extinction. © Snapshot Science, 2010