The Dodo bird or Raphus Cucullatus was a flightless bird native to the island of Mauritius, near the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The closest relatives to the dodo bird are pigeons and doves, even though dodo birds were much larger in size. On average, dodo birds stood 3 feet tall and weighted about 40 lb. Unfortunately, due to aggressive human population, dodo birds became extinct in late 17th century.
Dodo Birds, while now extinct, were found only on the small island of Mauritius, some 500 miles east of Madagascar, and 1200 miles east of Africa.
The complete isolation of this island let the Dodo Birds grow and evolve without natural predators, unfortunately to a fault that led to their extinction.