The dodo, the deer and a 1647 voyage to Japan

2014/03/06 by Ria Winters, Julian P. Hume · 3 citations
Psychology · Environmental Science · #Animal and Plant Science Education #Species Distribution and Climate Change #Avian ecology and behavior

paper · doi:10.1080/08912963.2014.884566

openalex publication_date 2014/03/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02

Abstract

More has been written about the iconic Dodo Raphus cucullatus of Mauritius than any other extinct bird, yet despite its familiarity, only a few specimens were exported from Mauritius; individual birds reached Europe alive in 1626 and 1638 and at least two survived a journey to India in 1625. There are also vague records of other exported birds. Here, we provide confirmation based on seventeenth century documents that a live Dodo was sent to Japan in 1647, the last known captive bird, and comment on the details of its long and arduous voyage.

Citations

• Establishing extinction dates – the curious case of the Dodo Raphus cucullatus and the Red Hen Aphanapteryx bonasia
• Added credence for a late Dodo extinction date
• The history of the DodoRaphus cucullatusand the penguin of Mauritius
• Dutch diaries and the demise of the dodo
• La presencia asiática de la India en el Caribe
• An Indian picture of the Dodo
• Reappraisal of the parrots (Aves: Psittacidae) from the Mascarene Islands, with comments on their ecology, morphology, and affinities

Cited by

• The Dutch East India Company and the Transport of Live Exotic Animals in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
• Captive birds on Dutch Mauritius: bad-tempered parrots, warty pigeons and notes on other native animals
• Dodo [wikipedia]