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A lesson in extinction

April 24, 2014

Big, flightless and apparently also fearless, the Dodo was by all accounts a strange bird. An environmentalist from Mauritius, where the feathered creature lived more than 300 years ago, has the story.

https://p.dw.com/p/1BnfO
An illustration of the Dodo bird
Image: Fotolia/Morphart

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Though Dodos have long been extinct, the flightless bird offers valuable insights into our planet’s biodiversity. One thing's for sure, once a species dies out you cannot turn back the clock, environmental activist Vikash Tatajah from the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation says. That makes it clear just how important and urgent it is to conserve existing species and nature. It also raises hope that Mauritius will at some point not just be famous for the now extinct Dodo but also for the many species it has managed to preserve.

An audio slideshow by Thomas Mandlmeier