Introduction

The flightless dodo, Raphus cucullatus, was native to the island of Mauritius, in the south-western Indian Ocean.On 20 September 1598, a Dutch fleet commanded by Admiral Wybrant van Warwijck found a channel through the reef encircling Mauritius, and initiated the permanent settlement of the island.Less than a century later, the dodo was extinct, and other species followed rapidly. A close relative, Pezophaps solitaria, lived on the nearby island of Rodrigues, but suffered a similar fate to the dodo.