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Dodo extinction
last confirmed sighting 1662· Extinction or crisis· Animals
Well establishedStrong fossil, genetic or geological evidence.
A flightless bird of Mauritius, wiped out within about 65 years of people arriving in 1598, and now the icon of extinction.
See it on the Life map →What happened
The dodo was a ground-nesting bird about 1 meter tall, a giant relative of pigeons, found only on Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. With no native predators, it showed little fear of people. Dutch sailors arrived in 1598. Hunting played a part, but the rats, pigs and monkeys people brought, which raided nests and competed for food, plus forest clearing, probably did more harm. The last confirmed sighting was in 1662.
Why it matters
It is the best-known early extinction caused by humans, and it shows how fast island species with no fear of people can vanish.
The evidence (fossils, genes, rocks)
Sailors' journals and sketches; a few specimens, including Oxford's head and foot with the only surviving soft tissue; and bones dug since 1865 from the Mare aux Songes marsh.
Still debated
What it really looked like (paintings show fat birds, perhaps overfed captives), how heavy it was, and when the last one died; some estimates run to about 1690.
Connections (2)
▸Dodo extinction became a symbol of A sixth mass extinction?Well established
The connection
The dodo's rapid disappearance after people reached Mauritius, through hunting, introduced animals and forest loss, captures the main drivers of modern extinctions in one story. Its fame, from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (1865) to the phrase 'dead as a dodo', made it the symbol of human-caused extinction and the emblem of Mauritius.
When and how
Mauritius, Indian Ocean, from the Dutch arrival in 1598 to the last confirmed sighting in 1662; its symbolic role grew in the 1800s.
The evidence
Historical accounts and fossils document the extinction; its symbolic role shows in literature, Mauritius's coat of arms and conservation logos such as the Durrell trust's.
Debates and open questions
Whether hunting or introduced animals did more harm, and whether planned de-extinction efforts honor the symbol or distract from protecting living species.
▸Dodo extinction is a target of De-extinction & the 2025 'dire wolf' claimStrong evidence
The connection
The dodo, a flightless pigeon wiped out on Mauritius by the late 1600s, is a symbol of human-caused extinction and a de-extinction target. Birds cannot be cloned like mammals, so Colossal plans to edit cells of the Nicobar pigeon, the dodo's closest living relative, and grow them into germ cells carried by surrogate birds.
When and how
Colossal announced its dodo project in January 2023 with paleogeneticist Beth Shapiro, whose team had sequenced the dodo genome; partners include the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation.
How sure are we?
The dodo genome, read from a museum specimen, makes the attempt technically conceivable; progress so far is company-reported, and no bird exists yet.
Debates and open questions
Whether the result would be a dodo or an edited pigeon, and whether Mauritius, still overrun by rats and introduced monkeys, could support it.