Given that dodos were so docile, why didn't the Europeans domesticate and farm them instead of hunting them into extinction? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

There are a combination of reasons why Europeans decided not to domesticate Dodo birds despite their docile nature, but before we get to that, let’s correct a common misconception: man didn’t hunt the Dodo Bird into extinction. The final, last, and lonely Dodo on Earth, almost certainly wasn’t killed by man. But that’s not to say that mankind was not responsible for the near record time of extinction of this fearless, curious, and welcoming bird. Notice that I didn’t mention the words “dumb” or “stupid”; merely friendly, trusting, and curious. But even so, this unfortunate characteristic is not the reason that the Dodo was made extinct within the time frame of a single human’s lifetime, after their discovery.

The direct reason for the quick extinction of the Dodo Bird, was due to cats, rats, pigs and monkeys. None of these predators existed on their island-home of Mauritius. Man brought them all. They escaped, went feral, and hunted down and ate every last Dodo egg in existence, throughout the hills and lush jungles of Mauritius. You see, Dodo Birds only laid one egg at a time, with considerable time between eggs. The other primary factor is that Dodo nests are built on the ground. Easy pickings for all these escaped animals to eat the eggs and chicks. It was actually a man-made environmental disaster that caused the extinction, not man’s hunting them to death. Of course, that reason is certainly no better. Introduction of several invasive species. You can read the entire sad tale of what happened to the last Dodo Bird on Earth, here: Stefan Pociask's answer to What happened to the last Dodo Bird?

Now, back to the original topic, why they weren’t domesticated? As I said, there are several reasons.

* As previously mentioned, they only laid one egg at a time, and not that often. So chicks were not numerous, nor frequent. New generations weren’t born at a rate making raising them practical. Evolution/nature had seen no need to have Dodos lay multiple eggs, as the survival rate of fuzzy, baby Dodo chicks was extremely high… prior to man’s involvement on the island.

* There was no reason to go through all that trouble, when it was far easier to walk to areas of the jungle where Dodos gathered to eat or drink, and just walk up to one, pick the curious bird up, and carry it home. They did this until the usual gathering places no longer contained any Dodos, and the only ones left were in the remotest places of the island.

* And finally, if you’re wondering why none were taken to Europe to raise and propagate there… the Dodos rarely survived the months-long trip aboard ship. The sailors didn’t know enough about the birds to know how to care for them properly. In fact, it was only a few years between the time when a name (Dodo) was actually established, before they were gone. They died so quickly on that ocean voyage that nearly all were tossed overboard, and very, very few made it to Europe, even as dead carcasses.

* There is considerable disagreement on how tasty Dodo Bird meat was. There are as many articles that conclude that it did not taste good at all as there are saying it was very good. But all the information regarding their palatability originates from the writing of only 2 or 3 people. The confusion comes from the interpretations of what little was written (as is so very often the case with old writings, i.e. Bible, US Constitution, etc.). My best interpretation is that the breast meat was very good indeed! With the legs being far tougher. And that overcooking any of it only made it worse. It only makes sense that it would be of good flavor, since most texts state that its diet was mostly fruits like Mangoes and various palm fruits. But you can read this source and make your own conclusion and decide if the taste was one reason they were not domesticated:

** In 1598, Admiral van Warwijk goes on to explain about the Dodo "... that the longer and oftener they were cooked [i.e., "wallowed in the pot"], the less soft and more insipid eating they became. Nevertheless their belly and breast were of a pleasant flavour and easily masticated." Sir Thomas Herbert in 1634 said "It is reputed more for wonder than for food, greasie [robust] stomackes may seeke after them, but to the delicate they are offensive and of no nourishment."

Once man crossed paths with this ancient species, nothing went well for this fascinating bird that greeted the first humans on their island by walking up to them to investigate. Violence against these curious birds must have come as a terrifying and unexpected shock to each bird, as they had never experienced any kind of violence in their millions of years of evolution on their island paradise. Not one of mankind’s proudest moments.

UPDATE: GREAT SCOTT! DODO & CHIPS ON THE MENU!

I have quite an interesting addition to add. This comes from a small community news site for a couple of small villages in Scotland by the names of Saline and Steelend, a couple of rural communities among the bogs north of Edinburgh. Hidden among the village news of whose horse will help drag logs from the bogs, and a warning to stop speeding down the only road through the village, comes this fascinating bit about a discovery of something quite unusual that was buried deep in the bogs. This comes from the Saline, Steelend and Communities Bulletin, from April 2015:

During a recent clearance of timber, an extremely unusual object was discovered. This appeared to be an organic object that resembled a bird of some kind. The item concerned was immediately referred to the Edinburgh Zoological Society who have identified the object as a sub-fossilized dodo. Dr. April Fuller of the Society has stated that this is a most amazing discovery that has been extremely well preserved by the waterlogged oxygen-free conditions in the bog. The remains have been forwarded to Heriot-Watt University for carbon-14 dating.

The local history of the area tells us that this site was once a part of the Bandrum estate; and in the early eighteenth century the land was owned by Archibald Hogg who was a captain in the East India Company. His travels would have taken him to Madagascar and Mauritius, and it is possible that he brought a few dodos back to Saline in order to breed them.

Together with the dodo, scraps of a parchment-like material were found together with some vegetable matter that resembled potato. Is it therefore possible that the chip shop that once operated in North Road was selling dodo and chips to the folk of Saline in years gone by?

Imagine that! In the lowlands of rural Scotland, of all places, a serving of Dodo & Potatoes was dug up from a bog! What an amazing discovery! And I get a kick out of the matter-of-fact tone with which this is all reported. So… we continue to learn more, every day, about the history and fate of this extraordinary bird.

This question originally appeared on Quora. More questions on Quora:

* Dodo Bird: What happened to the last Dodo Bird?

* Animals: What's one weird trick that everyone should know about helping wildlife?

* Extinct Animals: What are some possible consequences of reintroducing extinct species back into the ecosystem?

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