The Dodo, an icon of extinction

The dodo is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. The dodo was about 1 meter tall and may have weighed between 10 and 20 kilos. It was last sighted in the 1660s, a century after humans arrived on the island. Hunting was a factor in the dodo's demise, but rats, cats and pigs released on the island from ships had a larger impact on their extinction: these invasive animals ate dodo eggs and outcompeted the birds for food.

Did you know? In English, to be (as) dead as a dodo is a phrase used to stress that someone or something is dead or obsolete.

flightless incapable de voler / about environ / to weigh peser / to sight apercevoir / demise disparition / to release (re)lâcher / ship navire / to outcompete l’emporter sur / phrase expression / to stress souligner (fig.).