why did the dodo go extinct? Apart from redating the colonization of Madagascar, the new discovery reopens the question why the local megafauna went extinct. But enough of the Discovery Channel stuff, you’re reading this to find out how this sucker went extinct. Fearless and … Within a century, the last dodo bird died and marked its extinction. Recently a scientist noticed that a certain species of tree was becoming quite rare on Mauritius. And the answer is, well, complicated. In fact, he noticed that all 13 of the remaining trees of this species were about 300 years old. Although the dodo bird became extinct in 1681, its story is not over. The tree has not germinated since the 1600s and only thirteen trees remain. Due to their inability to fly and lack of previous exposure to predators dodos were at risk as soon as Dutch sailors landed on their island in 1598. Sometime during the Pleistocene epoch, a badly lost flock of pigeons landed on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, located about 700 miles east of Madagascar. The island of Mauritius, where the Dodo Bird lived. This was the dodo’s home and the two species formed a symbiotic relationship where they depended on each other to survive. The dodo was a large flightless bird was native to the Island of Mauritius (located to the east of Africa and Madagascar). We are just beginning to understand the effects of its extinction on the ecosystem. Sailors who arrived on the island of Mauritius from the year 1598 started hunting dodos, and initiated mass killings, to the point where these birds were extinct by 1681. The sailors frequently fed on wildlife from Mauritius while staying there, although it has been said that dodo meat was not particularly tasty. 19 Sep, 2013 animals. Still, they were hunted intensely, with sailors sometimes bringing back as many as 50 at a time. Why did the Dodo go Extinct. Why did they go extinct? Despite the fact that humans were far bigger then them, dodos were not afraid of these intruders. Why did the dodo became extinct? "The main purpose dodos served to humans, in the brief contact between the two species, was as food. Apparently, humans and elephant birds coexisted for almost 9,000 years. The dodo had no natural enemies on Mauritius. 3. Life was sweet for dodos until humans also discovered the Mascarenes, in the late 1500s. The dodo, or Raphus cucullatus if you want to get fancy, is an extinct species of flightless bird that was native to the tiny island nation of Mauritius before it sadly died out. Little is known about the life of the dodo, despite the notoriety that comes with being one of the world's most famous extinct species in history. This species is best known for becoming extinct in the 17th century, with the last sighting of this species in 1688. 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