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Coloured Engraving of a dodo

Engraving of a dodo, an extinct, flightless bird, related to the pigeon. The size of a swan, it was heavily-built and clumsy. Two species were known with certainty: the common dodo Raphus cucullatus from Mauritius, which became extinct between 1665 and 1670, and the Rodriguez solitaire Pezophaps solitaria from the neighbouring island of Rodriguez, which died out around 1761. The dodo's numbers quickly dwindled following the arrival of humans to these isolated habitats. All but defenceless, they were ill-equipped to cope with the new hunters & the competition from other introduced species. Copper engraving from Historia Naturalis Brasiliae, W. Piso & G. Marcgrave, 1658

© DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

20076241

mauritius, people, crowds making offerings of flowers and fruit in the grand bassin lake during the maha shivaratree festival in honour of the hindu god siva

© Sarah Murray eye ubiquitous / hutchison

Africa, Festivals, Hinduism, People, Religious

Theodore Hook

(1788-1841). He was an English man of letters and composer and briefly a civil servant in Mauritius. He is best known for his practical jokes, particularly the Berners Street hoax in 1810. Date: 19th century

© Mary Evans / Peter & Dawn Cope Collection Mary Evans / Peter & Dawn Cope Collection

1788 1841, 1810, Berners, Best, Briefly, Civil, Composer, English, He, Hoax, Hook, Jokes, Letters, Man, Mauritius, Practical, Servant, Street, Theodore