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Article The History of the and the Cause of Its

The History of the Dodo Bird and the Cause of Its Extinction Jerry Bergman

A careful reevaluation of the Dodo bird by several contemporary researchers has found that many of the widely accepted conclusions about it are erroneous. For example, the Dodo was not a fat, slow, inferior, defenseless bird but was a swift and fierce fighter if it was threatened. The common conclusion that it was defenseless is due partly to the fact that it did not have a natural of humans or many . Often used as the prime example of how prunes out the weak, its extinction does not demonstrate the efficacy of natural selection in eliminating inferior animals but the wanton disregard of by humans. Now regarded by contemporary researchers as a wonderful, magnificent creature, its loss is a tragic event in history that eloquently illustrates the need for stewardship of the Earth’s resources, a topic to be discussed in the conclusion. Jerry Bergman

classic example of Darwinism in to gather food and escape enemies would A action (and the most widely publi- eventually become dominant, and the infe- A classic cized symbol of extinction due to rior animals would become extinct. The Dodo, inferiority) is the Dodo bird.1 Since their though, did not become extinct because example of discovery by Westerners in the 1500s, humans or animals were competing with were sketched, painted, and sometimes lam- them for the same food supply. They became Darwinism in pooned. It was just the right bird for Lewis extinct for the same reason that animals, Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’s such as the , became action (and the of off-beat animals. The Dodo extinct—human greed, carelessness, and the that Alice met was “faintly absurd … [and] contingencies of history.5 most widely spoke in words of many syllables.”2 The publicized Dodo has been the subject of an “exceptional The demise of the Dodo has become a amount of popular commentary, folklore fixture of our language, and a symbol of the symbol of and illustrations.”3 The Dodo bird (formerly extinction of inferior animals. Expressions Didus ineptus, and now Raphus cucullatus)is such as “dead as a Dodo,” referring to some- extinction due in the Columbiformes. This extinct, thing that is forever gone and very much a 6 nonflying, allegedly “obviously unfit,” fat, thing of the past, is one example. The term to inferiority) dumb bird has also been used as a prime as applied to a person refers to one who example of proof of evolution by natural lacks intelligence, is addled, or looks silly. is the Dodo bird. selection, as illustrated by Stevens’ claim: Jerry Bergman teaches , chemistry, and at Northwest “Less successful organisms would seem to State College in Archbold, Ohio, and is a research associate and adjunct argue for the messy, often dead-end process instructor at Medical College of Ohio in Toledo. He has over 600 publications of evolution: the dodo …”4 in scholarly and popular science journals and has written twenty books and monographs. His work has been translated into twelve languages. To discuss Some may conclude that the humans won his research, Bergman has been a featured speaker on many college campuses and the Dodos lost in the struggle for life. throughout the United States and Europe and a frequent guest on radio and Darwin and the developers of natural selec- television programs. Dr. Bergman has earned nine college degrees, including five tion have defined natural selection since his masters degrees and two doctorates in the sciences. His last Ph.D. is in biology. classic 1859 Origin of in terms of com- A resident of Montpelier, Ohio, since 1986 and an ASA Fellow, he and his wife, petition between animals for food or mates. Dianne, have four children: Aeron, Mishalea, Christine, and Scott; and two The animals that possessed a superior ability granddaughters, Kearstin and Bryn. Email: [email protected]

Volume 57, Number 3, September 2005 221 Article The History of the Dodo Bird and the Cause of Its Extinction

Although the word “Dodo” is Portuguese that has caused the most massive extinc- for simpleton, the Portuguese did not remain tions.”13 Our failure to steward creation will on the island where Dodos lived after dis- be discussed in more detail below. covering them and, evidently, Portuguese writings of the time do not contain refer- ences to Dodo .7 Others argue that the The Dodo’s and word “Dodo” came from an Discovery The Dodo mimicking the bird’s call.8 The Dodo species group (formerly Raphidae) consisted of at least four similar flightless species group Illustrations and reconstructions often birds called “didine” birds that lived in simi- show the Dodo as a magnificently over- lar, but different, . These are the Dodo weight, pigeon-like bird that allegedly had a of , the White Dodo, the Solitaire (formerly “large body and small wings, far too small to of Reunion, and the Rodriguez Solitaire. 9 permit him to fly.” The most famous recon- Both the Dodo of Mauritius and the White Raphidae) struction of the Dodo was conducted in the Dodo lived on Mauritius, a small island of studio of Roland Ward in . 809 square miles located five hundred miles consisted of Ward’s reconstruction is now in the Ameri- east of in the . The can of Flying Bird Solitaire of Reunion (once called Baurbon) Hall located near a completely restored Dodo lived on Reunion Island, and the Rodriguez at least 10 skeleton. The popularity of these exhibits Solitaire lived on tiny Rodriguez island.14 indicate the modern interest in the Dodo. four similar Mauritius, Reunion, and Rodriguez are a The Dodo probably is not only the best- group of volcanic upthrust islands collec- flightless birds known extinct modern species, but also a tively called the Mascarenes, located between prime exhibit of the efficacy of natural selec- Madagascar and Australia. Other members of the Dodo lived on widely sepa- called “didine” tion’s ability to prune out the weak and inferior animals. Owen even argued that the rated, small, neighboring islands that stand simple fact of its extinction by itself sealed alone in a water wilderness thousands of 15 birds that lived the case for its inferiority.11 Some miles from any neighboring island or land. go even further, using evolution to justify, These birds evidently thrived in their in similar, but or at least condone, the extinction of the island habitat.16 Like many small remote Dodo and other animals. Darlington writes: islands, the Mascarenes did not contain mam- different, Extinction is a natural process essential mals, and the only were a few to evolution … man’s role in it, and eth- and several kinds of birds. Among habitats. These ical implications … is a difficult subject the many varieties of birds that lived there for me to write about. Many conserva- were , crows, sparrows, , geese, are the Dodo of tionists … will not like what I say. , and doves.17 But the subject is evolution-related, Mauritius, the and I have to treat it. Man’s evolution, The Mauritius Dodos were discovered in multiplication, and occupation of the the early 1500s by the Portuguese and became world have inevitably caused the extinct after a mere 174 years. The enormous White Dodo, extinction of many and animals, slaughter during this brief time decimated directly or indirectly. Man has hunted this very “remarkable bird” that once the Solitaire of or is many animals to extinc- “existed in considerable abundance.”18 Con- tion, either for food (for example, the temporary accounts claim that sailors killed Reunion, and Dodo on Mauritius, some of the giant as many as fifty large birds a day, about on the Galapagos, and proba- half of which were Dodos.19 The Reunion the Rodriguez bly the in ), for sport Solitaire has been extinct since the end of (for example, the in Arabia), or the seventeenth century, and the Rodriguez Solitaire. in self-defense (for example, the , Solitaire since the latter half of the eigh- which has been retreating before man teenth century. for 2000 years). Current lists of extinct Since many drawings were completed and vanished species include many from live specimens, and travelers’ accounts more examples.12 substantially agree on its physical traits, Darlington then admits that “it has been a good understanding of this species’ physi- man’s role in changing the face of the earth ology can now be determined (see Figure 1).

222 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith Jerry Bergman

The major differences in descriptions of the Solitaire per- stand Dodo . Also, a large number of bone frag- tain to its color, which probably reflects actual color ments of the Solitaire Dodo exist, but unfortunately, no variations in the wild. The Rodriguez Solitaire was a bones exist for the White Dodo, which is known only by “delightfully beautiful” bird and also “delightfully edible” drawings made by contemporary travelers. according to contemporary accounts.20 It is assumed that Dodos evolved from hypothetical large, tooth-billed pigeons whose ancestors flew to the Mascarenes.26 Dodos are also speculated to have lost the Evidence for Dodo Evolution ability to fly because their new homeland lacked enemies No account of the Dodo is complete without an attempt and had plenty of food that did not require to to understand the Dodo’s origins and its relationship with obtain.27 Fuller concluded that the evolution from pigeon other birds. Unfortunately, the “evolutionary history of to Dodo may have taken place “quite rapidly” (and thus, 21 the Dodo is very poorly understood.” Because the evolu- left no record), even though the “visual differences tion of the Dodo can only be speculated, this topic has between a Dodo and the familiar pigeon species are imme- been a subject of much controversy for decades.22 One diately apparent and a vast gulf seems to lie between major reason is because a complete lack of transitional them.”28 forms exists, and no evidence of its evolution has been 23 discovered thus far in the fossil record. Kitchener concludes that Dodos “probably evolved from African fruit pigeons of the Treron which Some claim that one reason for this may be that the thin bones of birds are often poorly preserved. Others note, became stranded on the blissfully predator-free island of 29 as a comparatively heavy, nonflying bird, the Dodo’s bones Mauritius.” Whitlock speculates that Dodos are related were thicker than those of most birds and would have had to pigeons (or perhaps rails) and now are usually classified 30 a better chance of becoming fossilized than the bones of as members of the pigeon family. Shapiro, et al. conclude most birds. Actually, a large number of bird exist, that “the Dodo has been linked with avian groups ranging and bird bones are often preserved quite well, including from the to the raptors.” Furthermore, morphologi- Dodo bones.24 Many examples of good preservation of cal studies have linked the Dodo “and its presumed close bones from large birds, such as giant (200 kg body relative the solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria) with the Columbi- mass), to small birds, such as wrens (10 g body mass) formes (pigeons and doves), but their exact position is exist.25 Depositional environment is, as a whole, far more unresolved and they have been placed in many positions important than bone thickness. Fortunately, many com- within the cosmopolitan or in their own plete Mauritius Dodo skeletons exist (mostly assembled family, Raphidae, outside the Columbidae but within 31 from bones found in the late 1800s) that help us under- Columbiformes.”

Figure 1. Artist rendering of the older view (left) of the Dodo compared to the newer view (right) that resulted from the work of Kitchener and others. Note that the primary difference is that in the newer view the Dodo is thinner. Drawing by artist Richard Geer, East Lansing, MI.

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Classification is made more difficult by thinner and sleeker than previously believed. the fact that a study of its has shown Many of our modern conclusions about the that it had unique traits not found in “any Dodo’s appearance were based on seven- other bird.”32 The DNA evidence evaluated teenth-century oil paintings of overweight, so far indicates they are part of the order under-exercised birds—a condition that Columbidae.33 usually resulted from their being kept as pets by wealthy Europeans who fed them a high- Other scientists have argued that the fat diet.42 Pet Dodos often ballooned up to Dodo, which was once called a “gentle almost twice what they would have weighed dove,” was an evolutionary link that “was in the wild. At their normal thirty pounds, 34 of considerable importance.” Livezey even they were good-sized birds but not much The evolution concludes that, in spite of their extinction, heavier than a comparably sized bird, such both R. cucullatus and P. solitaria were “evo- as a . of the Dodo lutionarily innovative in ontogeny, morpho- logical characters and life-history strategies.”35 After studying the Dodo’s history, No fossil evidence for any of these theories Kitchener found that the earliest Dodo draw- can only be of its evolutionary origins has ever been dis- ings showed rather thin birds—and only covered, even though we have uncovered those paintings completed later the speculated … hundreds of fossilized Dodo bones.36 familiar pudgy variety.43 Over a dozen origi- nal pictures (both drawings and paintings) [because] … of the Dodo now exist.44 Kitchener further Modern Reexamination found that while the thin Dodos were drawn a complete lack of the Dodo by those who actually had visited Mauritius, The bird’s putative obesity, slowness, lack of the plump portraits were produced mostly of transitional intelligence, and inability to fly are all com- by artists working in Europe. This factor sup- monly used as reasons for its alleged evolu- ports the conclusion that the Dodos brought tionary inferiority.37 Dodos were believed to Europe were fattened by their owners. forms to be not only large, but also grossly over- Kitchener next evaluated the hundreds of weight to the point that they could not fly. Dodo bones that have been unearthed so far. exists, Consequently, they lost their flight ability Using the methods developed by criminolo- and could not escape from their ground gists and archeologists to reconstruct flesh and no enemies. A careful recent reexamination of on bones, he was able to determine that the the Dodo has revealed that many of the com- skeletal pattern produced a bird “remark- mon negative perceptions about the bird evidence ably similar” to the early drawings of the (such as its obesity) are probably incorrect.38 Dodo—i.e., thinner, far less obese birds. In the words of Maddox, “The Dodo deserves of its Kitchener concluded from his work that the a better press.”39 Specifically, recent studies, actual weight of the wild adult Dodo was such as those by Livezey on 387 Dodo skele- probably between 11 to 17 kilograms.45 This evolution tal fragments and by Kitchener at the Royal is close to the weight of a male great , Museum of , have radically changed the heaviest flying living bird. Even an obese has been our view about the bird’s size and behav- Dodo, Kitchener estimated, would weigh only ior.40 The latter work has questioned the role 21.7 to 27.8 kilograms. This number compares discovered of the bird in evolutionary history. Kitchener closely with the only published record of a writes: Dodo body weight that he could locate, a thus far Rivaling the as a symbol of 1634 estimate of 23 kilograms (50 pounds), extinction, the Dodo is renown for which may represent the bird’s upper limit. in the being slow, stupid and fat. An evolu- Males weighed about four kilograms more tionary disaster, Raphus cucullatus was than females (Dodos were more sexually fossil record. doomed to extinction from the day it dimorphic in terms of size than most birds). was discovered by hungry Dutch sail- ors in the forest of Mauritius in 1589. An evaluation of eggshells also can be Wasn’t it? Maybe not.41 used to produce a body weight index, because the mass of the eggshell varies in Kitchener’s work is based on detailed proportion to the mass of the bird that lays study of the many bones unearthed, as well it. No confirmed surviving Dodo bird as the extant dried head specimens. His exists, but from descriptions of their in major finding is that the Dodo was much

224 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith Jerry Bergman

literature, Kitchener was able to estimate the Dodo’s than those in European paintings, and the was tilted weight at about 13.7 kilograms— the same value that he downward, reducing the bending forces on it and allow- obtained from an analysis of the relationship between the ing it to rapidly shift its center of gravity.51 This evidence length of the leg bone and other bone measurements.46 demonstrates that the Dodo was an effective, fast runner. Using both bones and research on living birds, Kitchener Kitchener concludes: demonstrated that a bird’s skeleton accounts for a fixed [for over] 350 years the Dodo has been thoroughly proportion of its body weight. The leg-bone analysis misrepresented as plump and immobile. The reality method is based on a direct relationship between leg-bone is, however, that in the forests of Mauritius it was dimensions and the weight that the bone must carry, lithe and active. Like other Mauritian birds it would a relationship that holds for every size of bird from a have undergone a seasonal fat cycle to overcome 47 to an ostrich. shortages of food, but never to the extent that those wonderful oil paintings suggest.52

Several other studies have also confirmed Kitchener’s results. Livezey examined 387 skeletal elements and con- Many of our modern conclusions about cluded that the body mass of the Dodo was 21 kg for males and 17 kg for females.53 Lindstedt and Calder estimated the Dodo’s appearance were based on the mass for the Dodo at 15 kg and 17 kg for the solitaire.54 seventeenth-century oil paintings of Even minor details that gave the birds a “stupid” look, in harmony with their historical image, are being modified overweight, under-exercised birds—a with our new understanding. For example, its tail, often shown as a sparse collection of feathers located rather high condition that usually resulted from on the bird’s back, likely was much fuller and far more dignified. The existing reconstructions, which Edwards their being kept as pets by wealthy states have caused the bird to look “sedately amusing” and produced “vast amusement” for observers,55 may Europeans who fed them a high-fat diet. now all have to be reexamined. The Mauritius Dodo’s bill was as long as nine inches, and was prominently hooked downward at the tip. The Kitchener concluded that “according to four different and the area up to and behind the eyes lacked plum- methods, all based on the Dodo’s bones, the famous flight- age, the feet and legs were yellow, and the skin was light less pigeon weighed between 10.6 and 17.5 kilograms.”48 ash in color. Furthermore, a 1634 account stated their irises His conclusion may be an underestimate, but it still sup- were a whitish color; their eyes were round, small, and ports the lower values for weight. These estimates held up, bright as diamonds; and their covering was of the “finest 56 even when he compared bone-body weight ratios of flying downe” (quoted in Gosse ). The Dodos also ate “stones” 57 and nonflying birds, such as that of a flightless , that their gizzards used to crush food. Their diet con- 58 the world’s largest . sisted of plants—most likely seeds, fruit, and foliage.

Evaluation of the cantilever strength of leg bones pro- duces a relationship that can be used to determine the Human Mistreatment of Dodo Birds running abilities of different-size animals. This method The earliest accounts of the Dodos by the Dutch navigator, provided evidence that Dodos were indeed “swift of Admiral Jacob Corneliszoon van Neck, date from 1598. foot”—a conclusion that corresponds with eyewitness The Dodos were first found on an island he named Mauri- accounts stating that the Dodo “could run very fast” tius in honor of his patron, Prince Maurice of Nassau, ruler 59 (quoted in Kitchener49). While Kitchener’s analysis is not of the Netherlands. Since Arab ships sailed the Indian without problems, his conclusions are very reasonable, Ocean as early as the Middle Ages, it is quite likely that especially in view of the fact that the opposite thesis has they were aware of the bird but left no known written little empirical evidence in its favor. One problem in records. The other two islands on which Dodos lived, obtaining weight estimates is that the Dodo deposition of Reunion and Rodriguez, lacked names in the 1500s or had body fat varied greatly by season, and considerable intra- names that we have not yet associated with these islands, generic and intergeneric diversity in body mass existed.50 making it difficult to relate early accounts of Dodos to spe- cific islands. Since Kitchener’s first evaluation, original unpublished Dodo drawings from the early 1600s were rediscovered in Admiral Jacob extensively described the island’s abun- a Hague, Netherlands museum that support his revision- dant ebony tree forests and exotic wildlife. He also dis- ism conclusions. The Dodos in the drawings are thinner cussed the Dodos in some detail, claiming that they were

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quite unlike any other bird with which he spent months at a time at sea and, confined was familiar. He concluded that, having no to meager rations on the ship and, no doubt predators, the birds did not fear humans, relished their sojourn to a set of islands that which is one reason why they were thought contained fresh meat.66 Fresh meat was also stupid—just as sheep are so easily led to important for sailors to reduce the problem slaughter and are thought stupid. It was rea- of scurvy, a concern until it was discovered soned that an intelligent animal would per- fresh fruit such as lemons could treat the ceive its fate and struggle to escape . problem. The animals that the sailors brought with them, especially dogs, cats, When the soldiers encountered chicks, monkeys, farm hogs, and the inevitable rat, Since the birds 60 though, the birds pecked “mighty hard.” ate the fledglings and broke the Dodo eggs were easy to Adult Dodos could also bite hard with their open to consume the yolks. By about 1690, “remarkably strong” bill and run fast with the Mauritius Dodo was extinct, and the 61 their strong legs. The crew killed many of White Dodo became extinct in about 1770 capture, within the birds and soon found that, although their (see Roberts and Solow for a discussion of flesh was tough and bitter, the longer the the problem of determining extinction67). a short time Dodos were cooked, the more palatable the Actually, despite the unceasing slaughter flesh became. They also took home a pair of of wildlife carried out “by the hundreds of the Dutch adults, one of which ended up in the Nether- European ships that visited Mauritius, the lands. The birds were a sensation in Europe Dodo survived for generations.”68 and were described in a fair amount of detail colonists (along in numerous contemporary accounts. These It was only when the colonists “displayed records were critical in Kitchener’s reassess- a grim dedication to the cause of exterminat- with sailors ment of the bird. ing the Dodo” that their demise was sealed. According to Panati, “Not a single naturalist and visitors) Emperor Rudolph of Germany also pur- had attempted to mate any of the captive chased a Dodo and soon had its portrait Dodos; they left no descendants.”69 The sail- soon killed painted. Pictures of the birds rapidly circu- ors would arrive at the island, not caring if a lated throughout Europe, and the demand breeding stock remained, because most were most of the for them was evidently so great that ships not animal connoisseurs and few had any soon began bringing Dodos back to Europe plans to return anyway. Even if a ship’s crew 62 for sale to the wealthy or to naturalists. ensured that breeding stock remained, the Dodo Dodos were also shipped to India, Java, and next shipload of sailors often would have 63 Japan. Many died en route, and only about nullified their forethought. Furthermore, population. … a dozen reached Europe alive before they many persons then did not consider the total 64 became extinct. The original Netherlands extinction of any animal a possibility.70 By about 1690, bird was honored with fourteen oil and Rather than demonstrate their weakness, the watercolor portraits before it died. The history of the Dodos effectively argues for the Mauritius Dodos were excellent subjects for portraits— the gross irresponsibility and even vicious- once posed, they remained virtually motion- ness of their caretakers.71 less until the picture was completed. Dodo was Kitchener argues that it was not the Unfortunately, these paintings cannot be Dodo’s physical inferiority that caused its extinct, and the relied upon exclusively, because artists took extinction, but the “rats, pigs, and monkeys “considerable anatomical license,” some that arrived with the sailors and pillaged the White Dodo making the birds’ hooked “more fear- Dodo’s vulnerable ground nests.”72 Smith some” and turning “their forked dovelike concludes they became extinct not because 65 became extinct feet into the webbed of a .” None- of natural selection, but due to “direct pre- theless, enough paintings of the Dodo exist dation—as is true of probably all recent to provide clear evidence to help us piece cases of extinction by man.”73 in about 1770. together a reasonably accurate picture of them. The extinction of a fat, slow, inferior, defenseless Dodo argued for Darwinism far Since the birds were easy to capture, more effectively than similarly threatened, within a short time the Dutch colonists better-adapted birds that were saved only (along with sailors and visitors) soon killed through the heroic and deliberate efforts of most of the Dodo population. Most sailors a large number of concerned individuals.

226 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith Jerry Bergman

Now that the bird has been extensively studied, we realize Evidence for its existence did not surface until a resi- it did not support the but instead eloquently sup- dent of Mauritius, George Clark, extensively searched ported the human callousness.74 Not only did the Dodo the island and eventually discovered numerous scattered become extinct on the , but Day75 claims bones. His bone specimens were soon shipped to major that “countless pathetic slaughters wiped out tortoises, and, after extensive study, they were pro- gray parrots, blue pigeons and many other birds and rep- nounced authentic. These researchers later attempted to tiles” that once thrived there in peace. In the words of assemble the bone fragments (many of which were in poor Livezey: condition) into complete Dodo skeletons. The Dodos are [the view that ] R. cucullatus and (to a lesser degree) now recognized as real animals, but the many other 84 P. solitaria represent aberrant, overly specialized, surrounding them died slowly. degenerate, evolutionary oddities is misleading. The comparatively brief, largely anagenetic and ecogeo- graphically limited morphological trends manifest in R cucullatus and P. solitaria render moot the ques- tion of “evolutionary progress” by most accepted A group of zoologists that searched criteria.76 Gould concludes that to argue that the Dodo became Mauritius in 1850 looking for bones extinct because it was inferior is to blame the victim. He compares the situation to the native Bohemians who also found none. Soon the Dodo was became extinct at the hands of their Spanish conquerors. He regards claims that, as a primitive savage race, “they denounced as a “scientific fraud.” … were doomed by their own inherent inferiority is racist in the extreme.”77 As Gould concludes, victory does not inev- The Dodos are now recognized as real itably go to the brave, the strong, or the smart, but time and chance “happens to them all.”78 Likewise, as this animals, but the many other myths paper argues, it is clear that human irresponsibility was the reason for the Dodo’s demise, not their supposed surrounding them died slowly. inferiority.

The Dodo Myth When English naturalist John Tradescant died in 1662, Summary and Implications for his entire collection including his Dodo’s was bequeathed to an acquaintance, Elias Ashmole.79 Due to Christianity his irresponsibility and the poor preservation methods Human-caused animal extinction almost always has little used then, the entire collection’s condition soon deterio- to do with direct competition for food, and extinction in rated. Two years after the last living Dodo was seen on the long run causes loss of food supplies and resources for Mauritius, Elias donated his mounted Dodo to humans. Humans now have the ability to cause most all University in 1683. Even Oxford did not take very good life to become extinct by virtue of their knowledge of such care of the bird, and except for the head and foot that tools as poisons, guns, and atomic bombs. This has noth- were saved by a foresighted curator, it was burned as ing to do with survival of the fittest or natural selection in trash in 1755.80 Evidently, the museum’s board of directors the Darwinian sense. Eldredge states that “predators gen- “took one look at the dusty, stupid-looking bird and unan- erally do not hunt their prey into oblivion,”85 as humans imously voted to discard it.”81 have often done. Many people did not share the opinion of Oxford Humans are increasingly taking over land that was University. Interest in the bird was such that, by 1800, once dominated by animals, but as ecologists stress, this “professional naturalists were casting doubt on written need not cause their extinction. Only if larger numbers of descriptions of the bird, as well as on extant drawings.” It humans wantonly disregard the welfare of the animals liv- even became in vogue scientifically “to deny the bird’s ing in an area and refuse cooperation with conservation- existence and to challenge the Oxford head and foot as ists will this happen. Selfishness, shortsightedness, greed, fakes.”82 It if was a genuine bird, the critics reasoned, cer- and lack of planning have caused most recent animal tainly there would have been extensive systematic efforts —not direct human competition with animals to preserve it—or at least to save a good skeleton. A group in the Darwinian sense. This is supported by the fact that of zoologists that searched Mauritius in 1850 looking for “very many of our birds, shore birds, and waterfowl, bones found none. Soon the Dodo was denounced as a would today be extinct, or near extinction, were it not for “scientific fraud.”83 coddling through refuges and protective laws.”86

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The comparison of the Dodo, which the earth of its natural forests, or appeared to be inferior, and other birds destroying its wetlands, for humans which became extinct, such as the passenger to contaminate the earth’s waters, its pigeon (which was clearly superior as judged land, its air and its life with poisonous by the evolutionary naturalists of the day), substances, these are sins.”92 helps us to better assess the role of natural Many evangelical denominations and selection in history. Its role seems to be pri- sects, even those that teach a literal interpre- marily to reduce the rate of the accumulation tation of the Bible, support this view. Wilson of harmful mutations, often called devolu- cites Stan L. LeQuire, director of the Evan- tion, and not the role that Darwin ascribed to The role of gelical Environmental Network, who stated it. The Dodo example also supports Raup’s the issue very incisively: natural conclusion from his extensive study of the cause of extinction, namely that bad luck is “We evangelicals are recognizing more by far more important than bad genes.87 and more that environmental issues … selection in Most animals that have become extinct are really come from the most wonderful not in any clear way inferior than those still teachings that we have in Scripture, history … around today but (in most cases) were the which commend us to honor God victim of circumstances, chance, and the by caring for creation.” His network, seems to be irresponsibility of humans. organized into “Noah Congregations,” proved its mettle: it contributed $1 mil- The Dodo case fits Raup’s observations lion to the successful campaign against primarily and is a lesson in irresponsible Christian stew- congressional efforts to weaken the ardship of the Earth’s limited resources.88 Act.93 to reduce All the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Chris- The loss of the Dodo is only one of many tianity, and Islam) teach the environmental stirring reminders of the need for this Chris- the rate of the ethic which supports the “belief in the holi- tian environmental ethic today. ¿ ness of the Earth and the perception of accumulation nature as God’s handiwork” that must be cared for and maintained.89 As far back as Acknowledgments of harmful the thirteenth century, Saint Francis of Assisi I wish to thank Bert Thompson, Robert “prayed for the welfare of God’s creatures” Kofahl, John Woodmorappe, Clifford Lillo, and extolled the “beautiful relationship” of Deborah Bryan, Wayne Frair, and three mutations, 90 humankind and nature by humans. anonymous reviewers for their valuable insight and feedback on the earlier drafts of often called In Gen. 1:28, God instructs Adam and this paper. Eve to “fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule devolution, over the of the sea, and the birds of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth.” Some have construed this pas- Notes and not 1E. Fuller, Dodo: From Extinction to Icon (New York: sage as permission to exploit nature Universe Publishing, 2003); and O. Austin, Birds of exclusively for human needs. As Wilson the World (New York: Golden Press, 1961). the role that notes though, it is now “more commonly 2R. Silverberg, The Auk, The Dodo and the Oryx (New interpreted” to refer to a command by God York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1967). 3 Darwin 91 B. Livezey, “An Ecomorphological Review of the for humans to be “stewardship of nature.” Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) and Solitaire (Pezophaps He adds: soliaria), Flightless Columbiformes of the Masca- ascribed to it. Pope John Paul II has affirmed that rene Islands,” Journal of 230 (1993): 247–92, 248. “the ecological crisis is a moral issue.” 4S. Stevens, “’Intelligent Design’ Not Self-evident in And Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiri- Public Schools,” Columbus Dispatch, March 4, 2002, tual leader of the world’s 250 million B1. Orthodox Christians, has declared, in 5D. McKinley, “A History of the Passenger Pigeon the clarion tones of an Old Testament in Missouri,” The Auk 77 (1960): 399–420. 6S. Gould, Leonardo’s Mountain of Clams and the Diet prophet, that “for humans to cause of Worms (New York: Harmony Books, 1998), 235; species to become extinct and to I. Evans, ed., Brewer’s Dictionary of Phase and Fable destroy the biological diversity of (New York: Harper and Row, 1970); and J. Terres, God’s creation, for humans to degrade The Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987). the integrity of the earth by causing 7James C. Greenway, Extinct and Vanishing Birds of changes in its climate, by stripping the World (New York: Dover, 1967), 120.

228 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith Jerry Bergman

8D. Quammen, The Song of the Dodo (New York: Scribners, 1996). 50Livezey, “An Ecomorphological Review of the Dodo,” 262. 9W. Funk, Word Origins and their Romantic Stories (New York: 51Kitchener, “On the External Appearance of the Dodo,” 297–9. Bell Publishing,1978), 194. 52———, “Justice at Last for the Dodo,” 27. 10D. Edwards, “The Dodo of Mauritius,” in The Illustrated Library 53Livezey, “An Ecomorphological Review of the Dodo.” of the Natural Sciences, ed. Edward Weyer and Frederick Hahn 54S. Lindstedt and W. Calder, “Body Size and Longevity in Birds,” (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1958), 834–5. Systematic Zoology 15 (1976): 91–4. 11R. Owen, Memoir of the Dodo (didus ineptus, Linn.) by Richard 55Edwards, “The Dodo of Mauritius.” Owen … with an Historical Introduction by the Late William John 56Gosse, The Romance of Natural History, 75. Broderip (London: Taylor and Francis, 1866). 57Day, Vanished Species, 32. 12P. Darlington, Evolution for Naturalists; The Simple Principles and 58P. Richards, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of (New York: Complex Reality (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1980). Cambridge, 1991). 13Ibid., 246. 59C. Panati, Panati’s Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything 14A. Feduccia, The Origin and (New Haven, CT: and Everybody (New York: Harper & Row, 1989), 202. Yale University Press, 1996). 60Ibid. 15H. Strickland and G. Melville, The Dodo and Its Kindred: Or, The 61Brom, and Prins, “Microscopic Investigation of Remains History, Affinities, and Osteology of the Dodo, Solitaire, and Other from the Head of the Oxford Dodo, Raphus cucullatus”; and Ley, Extinct Birds of the Islands Mauritius, Rodriguez and Bourbon The Lungfish, the Dodo, and the Unicorn. (London: Reeve, Benham, and Reeve, 1848). 62Panati, Panati’s Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and 16J. Greenway, Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World (New York: Everybody. Dover, 1967). 63Brom and Prins, “Microscopic Investigation of Feather Remains 17D. Day, Vanished Species (New York: Gallery Books, 1989). from the Head of the Oxford Dodo, Raphus cucullatus.” 18P. Gosse, The Romance of Natural History (London: James Nisbet, 64Silverberg, The Auk, The Dodo and the Oryx. 1861), 74. 65Panati, Panati’s Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and 19Greenway, Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World. Everybody. 20Day, Vanished Species, 28. 66Day, Vanished Species. 21B. Shapiro, D. Sibthorpe, A. Rambaut, J. Austin, G. Wragg, 67D. Roberts and A. Solow, “When Did the Dodo Become Extinct?” O. Bininda-Emonds, P.Lee, and A. Cooper, “Flight of the Dodo,” Nature 426 (2003): 245. Science 295 (2002): 1683. 68Day, Vanished Species. 22A. Janoo, “On a Hitherto Undescribed Dodo Cranium, Raphus 69Panati, Panati’s Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and Cucullatus L. (Aves, Columbiformes), with a brief Taxonomical Everybody. Overview of this Extinct Flightless Mascarene Island Bird,” Bulletin 70Whitlock, Birds at Risk. du Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle Section C Sciences de la Terre 71Quammen, The Song of the Dodo. Paleontologie Geologie Mineralogie 18 (1996): 57–77. 72Kitchener, “Justice at Last for the Dodo,” 24. 23Livezey, “An Ecomorphological Review of the Dodo.” 73J. Smith, The Theory of Evolution (Baltimore, MD: , 1966), 271. 24Feduccia, The Origin and Evolution of Birds. 74Livezey, “An Ecomorphological Review of the Dodo”; and 25T.WorthyandR.Holdaway,The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric Life Whitlock, Birds at Risk. of New Zealand (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2002). 75Day, Vanished Species. 26Feduccia, The Origin and Evolution of Birds, 249. 76Livezey, “An Ecomorphological Review of the Dodo,” 282. 27D. Quammen, The Song of the Dodo (New York: Scribners, 1996), 77S. Gould, Leonardo’s Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms (New 261; and Fuller, Dodo: From Extinction to Icon, 39. York: Harmony Books, 1998), 249. 28Ibid., 37. 78Ibid. 29A. Kitchener, “Justice at Last for the Dodo,” New 139 79Brom and Prins, “Microscopic Investigation of Feather Remains (1993a): 24–7, 24. from the Head of the Oxford Dodo, Raphus cucullatus.” 30R. Whitlock, Birds at Risk (London: Moomraken Press, 1981), 16. 80Strickland and Melville, The Dodo and Its Kindred; and Panati, 31Shapiro, et al., “Flight of the Dodo.” Panati’s Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and Every- 32T. Brom and T. Prins, “Microscopic Investigation of Feather body. Remains from the Head of the Oxford Dodo, Raphus cucullatus,” 81Owen, Memoir of the Dodo (didus ineptus, Linn.) by … Journal of Zoology 218 (June 1989): 233–46. with an Historical Introduction by the Late William John Broderip; and 33Shapiro, et al., “Flight of the Dodo.” D. Wallechinsky and I. Wallace, The People’s Almanac #3 (New 34Brom and Prins, “Microscopic Investigation of Feather Remains York: Bantam Books, 1981). from the Head of the Oxford Dodo, Raphus cucullatus,”236. 82Panati, Panati’s Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and 35Livezey, “An Ecomorphological Review of the Dodo.” Everybody, 203. 36Ibid. 83Ibid. 37P. Darlington, Evolution for Naturalists; The Simple Principles and 84Darlington, Evolution for Naturalists; The Simple Principles and Com- Complex Reality (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1980). plex Reality. 38P. Hoffman, “New and Improved Dodo,” Discover 12 (1991): 16. 85N. Eldredge, The Miner’s Canary (New York: Prentice Hall Press, 39J. Maddox, “Bringing the Extinct Dodo Back to Life,” Nature 365 1991), 205. (1993): 291. 86J. Balouet, Extinct Species of the World (New York: Barrons, 1990); 40Livezey, “An Ecomorphological Review of the Dodo.” and Schorger, The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinc- 41Kitchener, “Justice at Last for the Dodo,” 24. tion (Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1955), 215. 42———, “On the External Appearance of the Dodo, Raphus cucullatus 87Raup, Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck? (New York: W. W. Norton, (L., 1758),” Archives of Natural History 20 (1993b): 279–301. 1991). 43Ibid. 88R. Wright, Biology through the Eyes of Faith (New York: Harper- 44W. Ley, The Lungfish, the Dodo, and the Unicorn: An Excursion into Collins, 1989). Romantic Zoology (New York: Viking Press, 1948), 230. 89E. Wilson, The Future of Life (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002), 157. 45Kitchener, “On the External Appearance of the Dodo.” 90Ibid. 46Ibid. 91Ibid. 47Kitchener, “Justice at Last for the Dodo,” 26. 92Ibid., 158. 48Ibid. 93Ibid., 157–8. 49Kitchener, “On the External Appearance of the Dodo,” 295–6.

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