An engraving of ‘The Hooded Dodo, Raphus cucullatus’
Coloured copperplate engraving, H. 19 x W. 11.6 cm
The dodo, or walghvoghel (wallow or loathsome bird), the name given by Dutch sailers who in 1598 were the first to mention this flightless bird on the island of Mauritius, didn’t long survive the arrival of humans. Having no predators on Mauritius, the dodo was flightless and not shy, so itself and its nest were easy prey for sailers, and the rats, pigs, dogs and cats introduced by the Dutch who occupied the island, because of the precious ebony trees growing there. After the arrival of the Dutch the island, entirely covered in forest, was quickly deforestated, destroying the habitat of the dodo and many other indigenous species, contributing to their extinction. The last accepted sighting of a dodo in Mauritius was in 1662.
Part of the Africa and Indian Ocean collections.
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