> The island nation of Mauritius has which extinct animal as its national symbol?And the answer: the dodo. Photo credit: History.comMauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean,about 2,000 km off the coast of Africa. Dodo birds were prevalent on the islandand had no natural enemy, until European explorers arrived with stowaway catsand rats, who became the dodo's predators.Beyond its national symbol, the dodo has become the face of Mauritius. Its jollyimage and name cover pizza parlors, coffee shops, beach towels, backpacks, andevery other kitschy souvenir in between. But beyond its human-led extinction orits tourist appeal, the dodo represents somewhat of a national identity for theisland of Mauritius, one that speaks to its colonial past. Before humans, the dodo had no known predators. It was naive, yes, but rightlyso. Without any exposure to real threat, they were unacquainted with itsactuality, and when the colonizers arrived on the island it didn't take longuntil the population was decimated. Aside from direct human villainy to thespecies, it was the second-hand human neglect that destroyed the dodo. Againstpredators like mice and rats, they stood no chance. Eventually, the loss of the dodo was actualized and publicized. Surely it wasnot the first extinction caused by human unawareness, but it was the first toenter popular consciousness, and the reaction was of shame. Individuals began torealize that extinction can be, and too easily is, of human making. The dodo hassince become a beacon of conservation. Ecologists on and off the island ofMauritius use its image as a reminder of how carelessness can create devastationfor unassuming populations like its own. While it is now long extinct, the dodois far from forgotten.