Dodo Skeleton Auctioned

Dodo skeleton sells for £280,000 at auction.

13:09 28 November 2016

A near-complete skeleton of a dodo has been sold at Summers Place Auction in Billingshurst, West Sussex, for £280,000. 

 

The bones of the extinct, flightless bird were complied by a dodo enthusiast over four decades until he had enough bones to create 95per cent complete skeleton; with only a part of the skull and one set of claws missing. 

 

It is believed that the birds, which were once found in Mauritius, became extinct in the 17th Century so rapidly that only a few traces of them remained. The auction house said that there were only 12 similarly complete skeletons in existence and all were held by museums. 

 

The majority of the bones in the specimen were recovered from the Mare aux Songes swamp in south eastern Mauritius and was assembled in the early 2000s. The Mauritian government has since banned all exports of dodo bones.