In Defense of the Dodo
I’ve been thinking about the phrase “Dumb as a Dodo” today and have decided that it’s unfair. So here I am - an owl in defence of a dodo. First let’s have a little background. The dodo was discovered on the Island of Mauritius in the 16th century. By 1681, less than a century later the poor bird was declared extinct. The dodo was, as the picture above demonstrates, a bit of a dopey looking bird. They were roughly the same size as a turkey but were more closely related to the pigeon family. Pigeons, as we all know, are terrible at chess, a fact which can only have helped fuel the speculation of the stupidity of its cousin, the dodo.
The Dodo had wings but could not fly, not unlike the Emu. They built their nests in convenient locations on the ground, laying and hatching one egg at a time. They were chilled. They had no fear because there was nothing for them to fear. That was, of course, until the Humans came along and decided the Dodo looked tasty. But it wasn’t just the appetites of Man that the bird had to contend with, but also the appetites of the animals man brought with them. The sly cat with his gleaming eyes and sharp claws. The idiot dog, all slobbering jowls, gnashing teeth and never-ending hunger. The monkey, cousin of man and grinder of organs.
The Dodo, unused to hostility, having lived its entire existence in peace and tranquillity on the beautiful island, didn’t hide when Man invaded. They trusted Man, for they knew no reason not to. Within 80 years of introduction to Mankind the Dodo was dead.
Perhaps the Dodo should have learned to adapt. Evolved in that relatively short space of time. People have argued that the Dodo must have been dumb not to have sharpened up quickly and figured out a better defence system against their neighbours. But isn’t that just victim bashing? Transfer it to the modern day and call it people versus people. The origins of modern conservation can be traced back to the same period of time and yet 400+ years later, thousands of species are on the brink of extinction due to the acts of Mankind. Our own habitats threatened due to overpopulation, greed and denial. If the Dodo is dumb for not wising up to the selfishness of man over the course of 80 years, how stupid does that make man for the 500 years since?
