Creature
Fast Facts
Introducing you to extinct species.

THE "DODO TREE"/

TAMBALACOQUE

1. The tambalacoque aka the "dodo tree" is not extinct yet. 2. In 1973 only 13 trees remained, all over 300 years old. (It is difficult to gauge a tree's age in the tropics because they do not have growth rings like many other types of tree). 3. The seed of the tambalacoque tree has a very thick shell. It had been theorized that without the dodo present the tambalacoque seeds would not be able to germinate on their own. 4. The dodo bird and tree had a symbiotic relationship, where they helped one another. 5. These seeds were a favorite of the dodo. 6. Once the dodo ate the fruit of the tree, the seeds were digested and planted throughout the island once the dodo finished digesting the seed. 7. The dodo distributed the seeds in their poop, thus planting seeds throughout the island. 8. Today wild turkeys are being fed tambalacoque seeds to break down the hard shell and people are even scraping the dense coating off by hand in order to plant the next generation. 9. Even with this help, the tambalacoque tree is in danger of 'going the way of the dodo'.

Extinction
Cometh
Facing the light at the end of the tunnel

EXTINCTION DATE

SOON?

The dodo tree was first discovered by the Portuguese around 1506 as they were looking for a trade route connecting Portugal to the East Indies. Although the Portuguese stopped by the island of Mauritius on their trade routes for supplies such as fresh water, fruit, and dodo, they did not make the island a permanent colony. The Dutch would later make Mauritius a permanent colony. With the decline of the dodo, the dodo tree population soon declined to being cut down and not being able to plant more seeds effectively without the dodo bird itself being on the island. There are still 13 dodo trees left in existence, but they are all over 300 years old. Growing trees from those seeds has been a struggle for scientists. People did try using wild turkeys to eat, digest, and poop out the seeds with mixed results. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The dodo might be a candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from the one and only specimen of a dodo containing skin. If the dodo was brought to life, could it be used to save the Tambalacoque tree from extinction on its native homeland in Mauritius?