October 5, 2024 2:02 PM

Study documents extinction of 610 bird species and ecological impacts

The Dodo, the famous flightless bird that inhabited the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, is a case study in extinction caused by humans. The Dodo, finely adapted to its isolated ecosystem but unprepared for the arrival of people, was first encountered by Dutch sailors in 1598. Hunting, habitat destruction and the introduction of non-native species doomed it in under 80 years. It is hardly alone. New research has documented the extinction of 610 bird species over the past 130,000 years, coincid...