No dodo

If it hadn't been for humans, the dodo might still be at large today. The dodo lives on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It had never learned to fly because it had no natural predators - until man arrived.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, sailors came to the island and hunted the dodo for food. Their animals ate its eggs and it was soon completely wiped out - hence the saying, "As dead as a dodo!"

This excerpt comes from the book Amazing Animals, Two-Can Publishing, 1994

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