There are loads of things to simply love in Mauritius and really nothing at all to dislike.  Unfortunately that wasn’t the fate of one famous inhabitant of this Indian Ocean holiday paradise…

The dodo (raphus cucullatus) is probably the island’s best known wildlife, even though it’s no longer with us!  Flightless, it stood about a metre tall, weighed around 20 kilogrammes, lived on fruit and nested on the ground.  It’s been extinct since the late 17th century.  It was hunted to extinction by the Dutch, who called the bird “walghvogel” (loathsome bird) because it tasted so bad.  That didn’t seem to stop them eating them though!  Some scholars suggest that the name Dodo came from “dodoor” (Dutch for sluggard) but it probably comes from “dodaars” (literally – knot-arse!)  describing the knot of feathers on the hind end of the animal.

Yet another possibility is that the name dodo reflected the bird’s own two-note call.  Unfortunately, we’ll never know the answer to that last one, but if you want to be“dodoor” all day long on Mauritius’ magnificent beaches, rest assured that no-one will bother you!