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How did the dodo become extinct?

The dodo, a flightless bird native to the Mascarene Islands in the Central Indian Ocean, became extinct around 1800. Pigs and monkeys, which destroyed dodo eggs, probably bore the greatest responsibility for the dodo's extinction. Humans contributed to the problem by slaughtering thousands of dodos for meat.

Dodos became extinct on the island of Mauritius soon after 1680 and on the island of Reunion around 1750. They remained on the island of Rodriguez until 1800.

Source: Encyclopedia Americana, vol. 9, pp. 232-33.

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