Picture: Mauritius

The Dodo and its Meaning

The story of the dodo is a sad one, full of violence and brutality. It is a story where we specifically see the ability of human beings to influence the environment and make an entire species go extinct. Even though the dodo has been extinct for many years, its image has survived in the minds of many people as an daunting example of human impact on the ecosystems of the world.

The Dodo and its Name

How the Dodo was named is unknown, but scientists are aware of several theories as to how the name dodo might have come up. The name may originate from the Dutch word “dodaar” , meaning “little grebe”, or from the Portuguese word “doudou”, meaning fool. It may even originate from the word “doo-doo”, which sounds like a dove’s call.

Johannes Lüttschwager:	„Die Drontenvögel“
David Quammen:	„The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction“
Georg Menting, Gerhard Hard:	„Vom Dodo lernen- Öko Mythen um einen Symbolvogel des Naturschutzes“
Clara Pinto-Correia:	„Return of the Crazy Bird- The Sad, Strange Tale of the Dodo“
Vincent Ziswiler:	„Der Dodo- Fantasien und Fakten zu einem verschwundenen Vogel“