We traveled to a remote island in the Indian Ocean. Active volcanoes, dreamy waterfalls and shark-infested coral reefs; everything seems to come out of a ‘vernerian’ adventure if it weren’t for the fact that, instead of traveling on board the Nautilus or the Albatros, we flew in a Boeing; or because, once on land, traffic jams end up making you angry. The objective is collect data on various animals that became extinct on La Réunion.
The african island, located east of Madagascar and southwest of Mauritius, still belongs to France today. It was the home of a giant tortoise and a bird once known as ‘Bourbon Solitaire’ (the monarchical toponym that, for obvious reasons, was replaced after the French Revolution). With the arrival of settlers in the 16th century, and in a few decades, both creatures perished along with a bat, 12 more species of birds and three reptiles. An environmental disaster, in the middle of the Modern Age, that the Natural History Museum of Saint-Denis try to disclose Here we come across the skeleton – donated to the institution in 1890 – of another extinct but alien bird: the dodo.
Disappeared from the neighboring island of Mauritius almost in parallel with the ‘solitaire’: 17th century. They were hunted by European sailors and their eggs predated by invading animals that, together with humans, transformed the environment to the point of making them invisible. The difference is that of the dodo we preserve a few fossil remains, and even drawings, while the solitaire died out without anyone bothering to pick up a single bone or feather, they didn’t even draw a picture of it. Only some written testimonies are preserved from which we know that he, with great difficulty, he could fly small stretches; something that has recently been ratified by some first paleontological findings. This twins it with the dodo, which we know had atrophied wings. In fact, experts estimate that the two birds could come from a common ancestor. Now, not even graced with such a pedigree, ‘Solitaire de La Réunion’ has achieved the fame that the dodo boasts. While the first had to wait –until 1995– to be accepted as an endemic species, the dodo was the protagonist of naturalistic debates, valuable paintings and literary stories that go back in time. noteworthy the fascination of lewis carroll for the dodo Oxford Natural History Museum; hence her unforgettable appearance in ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
Paradoxes of life, while the legacy of the dodo often goes unnoticed on the very island of Mauritius, in La Réunion this columbiformes bird is quite a symbol. In the opposite sense, and as if to demonstrate that nobody is a prophet in his own land, the poor and forgotten ‘Solitaire de la Réunion’ is not talked about except in the museum and academic circles. Furthermore, since the 1950s, the dodo is part of the colorful logo of the local beer: Bourbon. Although they don’t know it by this uncrowned name – clearly visible on the label – so you risk dehydration if you don’t ask for “the dodo”. The advertising claim, written in the local Creole language, is a declaration of intent: ‘The dodo read the’ (The dodo is here). Indeed, the dodo is an icon for souvenir shops and urban graffiti; articulates legends and is part of several traditional Creole expressions. A very present bird on an island that is not yours. Watch out. Let’s nuance This is what science thinks. Better not to contradict the reunionenses.
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We asked a store clerk about the fascination with the dodo, even though it originated in Mauritius. He answers: «it is believed that he also lived in Reunion…». A taxi driver and other interviewees are more vehement: “the dodo lived here!”. They do not know the ‘solitaire’. It will have to be disclosed.
Marches of the island and the ‘fast-food’ of the airport wears the dodo as a commercial brand. A people, a culture, has rescued an invisible animal that became extinct in Mauritius, and has turned it into a myth of La Reunion. Such is the conviction of him that they have made him visible. If we firmly believe in our animals, still alive, perhaps we can save them from extinction.