ARE ALL DODOS DEAD?

The word dodo is almost synonymous with extinction.  "As dead as a dodo" is a not uncommon expression.  The dodo was a large flightless pigeon found on the island of Mauritius.  But it was not only reported from there.

An explorer called Cauche in the year 1638 mentioned an encounter with dodos on another island.  This would seem to have been the Ile Tromelin in the Indian Ocean.  If this is accurate, there is no record of dodos being wiped out here, so perhaps they still strut about on this southerly isle.  There may even be dodos on other nearby islands.

Although the odd dodo in crepuscular conditions has been reported from Mauritius itself, these reports are likely to be mistaken.