An exceptionally rare, near-complete, Dodo skeleton will be offered for sale during Christie’s Science & Natural History Sale.
The world as we know it today is home to some weird and truly wonderful creatures, and it is our duty to ensure that they don’t die out as a result of our decadent and selfish ways. With that being said, however, there are many other creatures that once roamed the earth, that are sadly no longer with us. We all know about Dinosaurs, but what about something decidedly smaller?
Yep, we’re talking about the almost mythical Dodo. It may have had an unusual name, but this former member of the bird family is now considered an icon of extinction. For those of you who wish to own a piece of history, the prestigious Christie’s auction house recently announced the sale of a virtually complete skeleton of the iconic Dodo bird.
As dead as a Dodo?
The last living Dodo sadly died out more than 300 years ago. The first recorded evidence of its existence can be traced back to Mauritius, in the year 1598. Dutch sailors on the island were the first to write about this strange-looking bird, that, ironically considered their prevalence, is actually a distant member of the pigeon family.
The bird was flightless, stood roughly 30 inches in height, and had an unusual, almost comedic look about it. It had primarily grey and brown feathers, a large green and black beak, yellow feet, and a tufty white tail that would look more in place on a rabbit than a bird. After their initial discovery, less than a century later, the Dodo sadly became extinct.
Most believe that it was the Dutch sailors inhabiting the island that were responsible for the death of this creature. The story goes that they would eat the birds. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that this is not the case. It is far more likely that rats and other creatures brought ashore by the sailors, were responsible for the death of the bird as they would eat the eggs and young and as a result drive the Dodo to extinction.
Whether you believe that humans killed and ate the birds to extinction, or rats and other creatures that travelled on the boats to the island with the sailors, were to blame, you can’t deny that human beings were largely responsible for the death of this now iconic bird.
Own a piece of history
While we sadly can’t bring the Dodo back, not yet at least (with the way technology is going), we can raise awareness of just what we’re doing to animal life on our wonderful planet.
Christie’s auction house recently listed a near-complete Dodo skeleton from the island of Mauritius, which has an estimated listing price of between £400,000 and £600,000.
This skeleton is incredibly rare and is in fantastic condition. It is made up of fossilised bones of the remains of various Dodos scattered around the island. These remains, however, have also been combined with unfossilised bones found by Mauritian naturalist Etienne Thirioux, roughly around the turn of the 19th century.
This dodo skeleton is one of the rarest in existence to date and would make an exceptional addition to any collection.
To browse the sale or for more information click here.
Images: Christie’s