A legacy of 4.5 billions years may vanish… Unless we counter the biodiversity crisis, the world as we know today will only get worse…: Mauritius was the only known habitat of the extinct dodo bird, which was descendent of a type of pigeon. The bird was called “dodo” by the Portuguese who in 1505 were the first humans to set foot on Mauritius! The bird appeared to be not very smart! Isolated by its island location, the dodo had no previous contact with humanity; it greeted the new visitors with a child-like innocence! Having no predators, the dodo birds lost their need and ability to fly! The Dodo was about one meter tall and may have weighed 10–18 kg in the wild. As the island quickly became a stopover for ships engaged in the spice trade, the dodo was easy source of fresh meat for the sailors! Note that within less than 100 years of the arrival of humans on Mauritius, the once abundant dodo became a rare bird. The last dodo was killed in 1681! The Dodo went extinct within a century of its discovery. It is a good example of the human involvement in extinction! Preserving natural heritage and landscapes include aesthetic and biodiversity components. It is an ethical responsibility that is incumbent on everyone to help protect rare and declining species. I count on all of you to promote awareness of the many values of nature and help preserve the key features of the Earth’s biological legacy.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 14:49:57 +0000
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