Extinct animals facts

Pigeon. The dodo is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also extinct Rodrigues solitaire, the two forming the subfamily Raphinae of the family of pigeons and doves. The closest living relative of the dodo is the Nicobar pigeon.

New Zealand. The Haast's eagle is an extinct species of eagle that once lived in the South Island of New Zealand. Its massive size is explained as an evolutionary response to the size of its prey, the flightless moa, the largest of which could weigh 230 kg. Haast's eagle became extinct around 1400, after the moa were hunted to extinction by the first Māori.

Takahē is a flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand. It was thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898. However, after a carefully planned search effort the bird was rediscovered by Geoffrey Orbell on 20 November 1948.