Dodo (Raphus cucullatus)

Dodos lived exclusively on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion. During the 17th century thousands of these flightless birds, which had no natural enemies on Mauritius, fell prey to European seafarers mainly because they were unafraid and trusting. The last dodo was probably killed by a sailor in 1681. The NHM not only owns the most complete dodo skeleton anywhere in the world but has also, since 2011, has a state-of-the-art reconstruction of this extinct bird.