The dodo bird

1. The Dodo Bird or Raphus Cucullatus ! By Ty Colby

2. Three feet tall. Around 22-40 pounds. Diet consisted of fruit, nuts and seeds. Flightless. Lived commonly on the island of Mauritius. Feathered with chicken-like characteristics, including the feet and wings. Hooked beak which was used as a tool in the process of harvesting. Characteristics http://dodobird.net/

3. The Dodo birds closest living relatives are doves, pigeons and penguins! http://dodobird.net/

4. Said to have evolved from pigeons who landed on the island during the Pleistocene epoch. First seen by humans by Dutch settlers in 1598 * Dodo is Portuguese for simplton! First origin and sighting of the Dodo http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/CenozoicEra/a/Pleistocene-Epoch.htm

5. The Dodo bird had no natural predators, leaving the species to thrive on the island of Mauritius. Poaching. The Dodo bird was poached to extinction in 1638 by sailors visiting the island. So Why did they go extinct?? http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v426/n6964/full/426245a.html

6. Why was the Dodo bird flightless? Like penguins, the Dodo bird became flightless because of their diet. Their was an abundance of food for the Dodo bird on land, so their was no reason to fly. This evolutionary adaption was the demise of the Dodo bird! But Why ?? http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v426/n6964/full/426245a.html

7. Reasons why evolving put the Dodo bird in the grave Easily poached because they were slow, and could not fly. No fear response to humans. Progressive weight gain, also causing them to be easily noticed. http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_dodobird.htm

8. The Dodo Tree or The tambalacoque On Mauritius, there is a now rare tree that grew through the aid of the Dodo bird. The Dodo bird ate the Dodo trees fruit, and germinated its seeds with defecation. This is the only way the Dodo trees seeds would grow. http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_dodobird.htm

9. Could we bring back the Dodo? The method called De-extinction could work with Dodos. The Dodo shares enough DNA with other living bird species, specifically the Nicobar Pigeon. There are soft tissue samples of the Dodo because they went extinct not too long ago. In the near future, scientists think they could bring back the Dodo, along with the wooly mammoth. http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/CenozoicEra/a/Pleistocene-Epoch.htm

10. What does the Dodo mean Now? The dodo bird is seen as a symbol of what humans have the ability to do; we can either destroy, or preserve. The Dodo is an unfortunate extinction which could have been prevented, but because it happened, the Dodo is now a helping species in the preservation of other threatened animals .

11. References Vital Stats. ( n.d. ). The Dodo Bird. Retrieved June 14, 2014, from http://dodobird.net/ Roberts, D., & Solo, A. (2003, November 20). Flightless birds: When did the dodo become extinct?. . Retrieved June 14, 2014, from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v426/n6964/full/426245a.html Kasnoff , C. ( n.d. ). Dodo Bird. Bagheera . Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_dodobird.htm Strauss, B. ( n.d. ). The Golden Age of Giant Armadillos. About.com Dinosaurs. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/CenozoicEra/a/Pleistocene-Epoch.htm Dodo bird a resilient island survivor before the arrival of humans, study reveals - Smithsonian Science. (2011, September 26). Smithsonian Science. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://smithsonianscience.org/2011/09/dodo-bird-was-a-resilient-island-survivor-before-the-arrival-of-humans /