​Dodo on the menu?

Had the dodo not gone extinct, could it have been on your Thanksgiving or Christmas menu?Quite possibly!

The dodo haslong been described as having been inedible and disgusting to taste, but aswith many 'scientific facts' about the dodo, these assumptions stem from just afew misinterpreted accounts. Vice admiral Wybrant Warwijck, whose fleetdiscovered Mauritius and claimed the island for the Netherlands in 1598 (Moree,1998), was the first to remark upon the edibility of the dodo. An entry of theship's journal, dated September 20th 1598, states that "we have foundlarge birds .... who have a stomach so big that it provides two men with adelicious meal." (Moree, 2001). Upon return of the vleet's voyage, areport was published that stated that, with an abundance of 'pigeons andpopinnayes (parrots)', they preferred these birds over the 'Wallowbirds' (i.e.dodos) (Hume, 2006). Together with two other accounts on how dodos were lessdesirable than other birds, these three accounts seem to have founded the mythof dodo inedibility. In contrast, others, such as Heyndrick Jolinckin 1598 and Admiral Wolphert Harmenzoon in 1601, wrote that theyrelished dodo meat, particularly the breast and stomach (Moree, 2001; Hume,2006). After having spent months at sea, the sight of such a large bird thatwas easy prey must have set mouths drooling. In 1631, an anonymous Dutch sailorwrote "....[Dodos] were abundantly covered with fat, and so many ofthem were brought aboard, to the delight of us all. " It was onlybecause of an abundance of more tasty game birds, not the supposed repulsivetaste of their flesh, that dodos were less sought after.

 

Illustrationfrom van Neck's "Het Tweede Boeck" showing Dutch activities on theshore of Mauritius, as well as the first published depiction ofa dodo bird, on the left. 

References:

Hume, J.P.,2006. The history of the Dodo Raphus cucullatus and the penguinof Mauritius. Historical Biology, 2006; 18(2): 65–89.

Moree, P.,2001. Dodo's en galjoenen: De reis van het schip Gelderlandnaar Oost-Indië, 1601-1603. 348 pp.

Moree P. 1998. A concise historyof Dutch Mauritius, 1598–1710. London and New York: Kegan Paul International.127 pp.