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AFC Flag Expedition #8:
Not the way of the Dodo - Endangered Species of Mauritius
Expedition Artist: Ria Winters
Purpose: To visit Mauritius to study, render and support conservation of it's endangered species with special focus on its birds.
Location: Mauritius
Scheduled For: May 2009
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In natural history, these islands are known for their endemic species and the tragic history of some of them. That makes Mauritius unique and provides a unique subject for a conservation awareness project.

The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a  bird native only to the island of Mauritius. It was a flightless member of the pigeon family. Fully grown dodos weighed about 23 kg (50 pounds). When the Europeans arrived in Mauritius they discovered the Dodo as food. By 1681 it had been driven to extinction by humans and the feral dogs, pigs, rats, and monkeys that were introduced by the Europeans.

The Dodo was not the only Mauritian bird driven to extinction in recent centuries. Of the 45 bird species originally found, only 21 still survive. One bird species closely related to the Dodo became extinct in 1790: the Reunion Flightless Ibis (Raphus solitarius). Reports of sightings of living Dodos in the 1990s on Mauritius prompted William J. Gibbons to mount expeditions to search for them. None were found. On Rodrigues the Saddle-backed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise (Cylindraspis indica) also became extinct.

There is some controversy surrounding the extinction date of the Dodo. But considering circumstantial evidence such as travellers' reports and the lack of good reports after 1689, it is likely that the Dodo became extinct before 1700; the last Dodo died little more than a century after the species' discovery in 1581.

Few took particular notice of the extinct bird. By the early 19th century it seemed altogether too strange a creature, and was believed by many to be a myth. With the discovery of the first batch of Dodo bones in the Mare aux Songes and the reports written about them interest in the bird was rekindled. The newly-vindicated bird was featured as a character in Lewis Carroll's “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”. With the popularity of the book, the Dodo became a well-known and easily recognizable icon of extinction.

The phrase "to go the way of the dodo" became a way of saying that something becomes extinct or obsolete, to fall out of common usage or practice, or to become a thing of the past.

Other Mauritian Endemic Species:

  • The Echo Parakeet:
    The Echo Parakeet (Psittacula eques) was once common on Mauritius but began to decline in numbers and range in the mid 1800's. By 1986 the population was estimated to be between 8 and 12 individuals. It is thought that due to the discovery of previously unrecorded breeding groups the minimum population may have never been less than 20. The present wild Echo Parakeet population is restricted to an area of less than 40 km2 of remnant native upland forest within the 6800 Ha Black River Gorges National Park, created in 1993.
     
  • The Pink Pigeon:
    The Pink Pigeon (Columba meyeri) was once found all over the island. It is now restricted to the wet upland forests in the south-west corner of Mauritius. This very tame and vulnerable bird suffers from a loss of habitat and from predatory cats, rats and monkeys. A captive breeding programme was started in the early 1980s. The young were then released in three different parts of the forest. The wild population of Pink Pigeons now numbers more than 250 birds, from a total as low as 15 to 20 in 1985.
     
  • The Mauritius Kestrel:
    In the early 1970s, the entire population of Kestrels (Falco punctatus) had been reduced to 4 specimens, thus making it the rarest bird in the world. It is the only bird of prey in Mauritius and still the rarest falcon in the world. Over the last 23 years, an intensive programme of captive breeding and release has saved the beautiful Kestrel from extinction. The bird is still on the endangered species list and management of its population will have to continue for many years to come in order to ensure its survival.
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