The Dodo Bird
Raphus cucullatus
The dodo bird, historically, has been viewed as
a rather plump bird, weighing approximately 20-23
pounds. Grey in color, the dodo is quite distinct
from the solitaire (a relative of the dodo which
lived on the island of Reunion.) The dodo had a
large, hooked beak, and a plume of white feathers
adorned the rear of the dodo. What distinguishes
the dodo from many other birds is not just its
size, but that it was flightless. Despite its
large build, the dodo had small, weak wings which
could not lift it into the air. Thus it was easy
prey to the Portuguese invaders who would club the
bird to death as it approached them seeking
friendship.
Few bones or relics remain of the dodo today.
Without complete skeletons, it is impossible to
estimate the true size of the dodo bird. While
modern estimates range from around twenty to
twenty-three pounds, initial portraits of the bird
show a much slimmer creature. Work has been done
by scientists, which suggest that the dodo could
have been as light as between thirteen and
seventeen pounds. By analysing dodo bones, he has
come up with a prediction that shows the dodo
wasn't a fat plump bird at all. The opinions had
been based around European portraits of the bird.
These may have been a romanticized version of the
truth, or those dodo removed from their natural
environment may have been fattened up.
The nests of the dodo bird were, by necessity,
built on the ground as the bird was flightless.
The dodo's young were afforded little protection
on the ground against introduced predators, such
as the feral dogs and wild pigs left behind by
sailors. Dodo eggs were trampled and eaten by such
creatures, and the ability to repopulate the
species after hunting of the bird was seriously
affected. While the dodo had existed for centuries
or more in the natural Mauritian environment, the
impact of mankind through hunting and the
introduction of new predators placed too great a
strain upon the dodo. Soon it was lost to the
world.
Miss Waldrons Red Colobus Monkey
Procolobus badius waldroni
In the second week of September 2000, several
sources reported on a survey by primatologists in
Africa that has confirmed the extinction of
Procolobus badius waldroni, or Miss Waldron's red
colobus monkey.
This is the first primate taxon known to have
gone extinct since the 1700s, and its loss will be
the first of many to come unless true conservation
becomes an on-the-ground reality in the world's
tropical rainforests. As a specialist in the high-
canopy zone, Miss Waldon's red colobus suffered
from intense deforestation across an already
limited range in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
Relentless poaching pressure for the bushmeat
trade apparently eliminated the last survivors of
what, at the time of its discovery in 1933, was a
thriving and vigorous species.
The Great Auk
Pinguinus impennis
A picture of preserved Great Auk
Large breeding colonies of this flightless,
penguin-like sea bird once gathered on rocky
islands and coasts of the North Atlantic in
Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles, and
Scandinavia. A strong swimmer, the great auk
wintered as far south as Florida and southern
Spain.
Its extermination began with a slaughter
for food and bait by local inhabitants, and
continued for the bird’s fat and feathers. As the
birds became scarce, they were collected for a
well-paid trade in skins and eggs. The last known
living pair and one egg were taken in Iceland in
1844.
New Zealand Quail
Coturnix novaezelandiae
In Bullers Birds of New Zealand, there is a painting of the New Zealand quail and it does not look unlike the brown quail. Buller says, "It was excessively abundant in all the open country and especially on the grass covered downs of the South Island. The first settlers enjoyed some excellent quail shooting for several years and it is a matter of local history that Sir D. Munro and Major Richmond in 1848 shot as many as forty three brace in the course of a single day within a few miles of what is now the city of Nelson. While a Canterbury writer has recorded that in the early days, on the plains near Selwyn a bag of twenty brace of quail was not looked upon as extraordinary sport for a day's shooting".
Buller also records that according to Maori, even in the North Island it was formerly very abundant, certain grassy plains, like the Murimotu in the Taupo District being noted for them. Quail preserves were often given in the Maori Land court in support of title.
This extensive shooting for food and for sport undoubtedly caused severe reductions in the total population and there was also widespread burning off of the lowland tussock grassland which formed the birds main habitat. Their decline was sudden, over the course of a year or two, and in spite of the efforts of landowners to conserve the game by setting aside wide tracts of habitat, they became extinct around 1875.