Alive dodo12/22/2023 The scientists then used these lines to estimate the time that other events happened to the bird. The dodo bones show repeated lines of arrested growth, which the researchers suggest correspond to the harsh conditions of the summer months when the birds were starved of food. A stormy summer seasonĪccording to evidence in the different layers and types of tissue of the 22 bones examined, the dodo seems to have adapted its lifestyle to Mauritius's stormy summer, from November to March.ĭuring this period, heavy rain and strong winds can strip trees of leaves, flowers and fruit, causing severe food shortages for the island's animals. Some sailors' accounts have survived, but they are often limited or unreliable - seamen tended to spin their dodo-sighting tales for dramatic effect rather than scientific accuracy. The dodo died out within a century after Dutch explorers arrived on Mauritius in the late 1500s, so little evidence has been left behind of what it really looked like or how it lived. Only a few arrived alive, and it is unknown how long they survived once. 'So I was very pleased when the UCT team contacted me to say they had been given some more dodo bones to analyse and they wanted to team up.' The Dodo bird is an extinct species of bird that was quite large and flightless. 'But it wasn't quite enough evidence to make any strong conclusions about dodo lifestyles. ![]() The researchers were initially reluctant to cut up the exceptionally rare dodo bones from the Museum's historic collections.ĭr Steel says, 'Luckily, recent excavations in Mauritius provided us with a few broken bones that could be sacrificed. This is a breakthrough for Dr Lorna Steel, senior curator at the Museum, who began the work around a decade ago. At The Dodo, we’re building a digital brand for everyone who loves animals and cares about their wellbeing. ![]() They also used information about the lifestyle of birds that still live on Mauritius. Researchers from the Museum and the University of Cape Town (UCT) combined evidence from the bones with the historical accounts of sailors that visited Mauritius, the birds' home. Scientists examining the structure of the birds' bones have found new information about how quickly dodos grew, when they laid eggs and when they moulted.
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