Dodo meat was considered disgusting by the people who ate it.

  • Dodo bird from G. Edwards “A Natural History of Uncommon Birds”
Dodo bird from G. Edwards "A Natural History of Uncommon Birds"
Credit: World History Archive/ Alamy Stock Photo
Author Michael Nordine

November 11, 2025

Love it?

Dodos have long been synonymous with extinction for centuries, but they weren’t hunted because they were tasty. The small, flightless birds, which evolved on Mauritius without any natural predators and were unafraid of humans as a result, departed this mortal coil more than 300 years ago due to a combination of factors including deforestation, destruction of their nests by invasive species, and hunting. The Dutch soldiers who first encountered the humble dodo sometime around 1600 were not kind to this strange bird. After killing them en masse, the Dutch didn’t even enjoy the resulting meal.

The stew the soldiers made from dodo meat was described as “offensive and of no nourishment,” according to BBC science writer Helen Pilcher, due to the fact that it was tough and oily. The creatures themselves, meanwhile, were referred to as walchvögel, meaning “repulsive bird.” That didn’t stop the Dutch from killing and eating the birds to extinction less than a century after arriving on Mauritius, however. Dodos have had a reputation for stupidity and haplessness ever since, though in recent years some scientists have challenged those notions and suggested that the dodo got a bad rap.

By the Numbers

Did you know?

Some scientists are working to “de-extinct” dodos.

The de-extinction company Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences, which also made headlines for its efforts to resurrect woolly mammoths and dire wolves, has announced its plans to bring back the dodo. It has so far succeeded in growing pigeon primordial germ cells and plans to use gene-edited chickens as surrogates for the new dodos. “These flightless islanders were simple in neither body nor mind, contrary to popular belief,” the company website states. “In reality, they were merely unaware of the dangers posed by predatory animals, because for the majority of their existence, dodos hadn’t encountered any.” Not everyone is convinced bringing back the bird is a good idea, but Colossal has made impressive strides in its other de-extinction efforts — including, most notably, by developing a woolly mouse.

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