The Dodo and the Solitaire: A Natural History

7: Afterword: Memories of Green

371 7 Afterword: Memories of Green There is much conflict among descriptions and among illustrations. Furthermore , some evidence is of uncertain accuracy. This makes drawing definitive conclusions difficult. Instead of giving definitive answers to questions such as what color the dodo was and when it became extinct, this book reinforces that these facts remain ambiguous. Both the dodo and solitaire displayed osteological variability and Pezophaps, at least, variation in plumage color, which might account for conflict between descriptions. Furthermore, many images were likely composed from stuffed models. For a probable unbiased and accurate image of the dodo we should look to Mansūr’s image. However, it is probable that the species displayed variation in coloration, some individuals being brown and dark and others lighter and grayer. We do not know the extent of sexual dimorphism present, but the differences in plumage, as indicated by accounts and illustrations, suggest that it might have been developed to some degree (compare Mansūr and Savery-BM, for example). Pedal and tarsal color is debatable: color change of the pigments used by Mansūr might have taken place, whereas the yellowish color of the feet of Savery’s dodo might be due to the effects of natural oils. Both Raphus and Pezophaps were evolutionarily innovative K-selected species, and combined pedomorphic and peramorphic traits (cf. kakapo). Their morphological variability may at least in part have been due to slightly differing termination times of ontogenetic growth. The anatomy of the dodo and solitaire suggests that they habitually swallowed food items whole, and that, in Raphus at least, the beak was not used to break open very tough food items, as often supposed. The identity of the Réunion solitaire as an ibis separates the accounts of that bird from the illustrations of white dodos–the coloration of the latter probably originating due to artistic license (cf. Walther)–although the source of the images remains uncertain. It is often asked why the dodo died out. However, the important question is perhaps not why the dodo became extinct, but why many species continue to do so, from the effects of mankind, or rather civilization. Like the rats, deer, pigs, and monkeys which invaded Mauritius, humans have spread across the globe and have multiplied in vast numbers, exploiting resources and causing the extinction of species. Even in 1848 Strickland had noted, “many species of animals and plants are now undergoing this inevitable process of destruction before the ever-advancing tide of human population” (1848, 5). The following figures, from the 2010 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report, illustrate the predicament of species today. Should civilized man ever reach these distant lands, and bring moral, intellectual, and physical light into the recesses of these virgin forests, we may be sure that he will so disturb the nicely-balanced relations of organic and inorganic nature as to cause the disappearance, and finally the extinction, of these very beings whose wonderful structure and beauty he alone is fitted to appreciate and enjoy. This consideration must surely tell us that all living things were not made for man. Many of them have no relation to him. The cycle of their existence has gone on independently of his, and is disturbed or broken by every advance in man’s intellectual development; and their happiness and enjoyment, their loves and hates, their struggles for existence, their vigorous life and early death, would seem to be immediately related to their own well-being and perpetuation alone. Wallace 1869, 448–449 Every right-minded man will be filled with a deep regret when he decries how many of these marvellous and giant, but at the same time harmless and even useful, creatures in aforementioned regions have been eradicated and have disappeared forever. He shivers when each time he hears how this work of destruction is continued still daily, and he will but too well realise that man has absolutely mistaken his earthly mission and brutally abused his power, when he disturbs the harmony of nature in such a deeply serious way that the original is hardly further to be recognised. Schlegel 1858, 142 Rara Avis The Dodo and the Solitaire 372 As can be seen, a significant proportion of species are threatened with extinction. It is also noteworthy that we have insufficient data for many species, and, as such, the number of threatened species may be higher still. The current plight of the endangered kakapo is similar to that of the dodo; there...