The dodo bird was native to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Although this flightless bird had no natural predators, Dutch settlers hunted it to extinction, and it disappeared in approximately 1662.
Because there were no reptiles, mammals or other predators on Mauritius, dodos never developed natural defences. When settlers arrived, the dodos readily approached them and the animals they brought with them. In addition, dodos laid only one egg at a time. Their trusting nature and slow reproduction rates contributed to their extinction. Dodos evolved from pigeons that landed on the island; Nicobar pigeons are their closest living relatives.
