There has never been a native population in Mauritius. The Dodo, classified as the Raphus and belonging to the Columbidae family, is a for sure a Mauritian.
Some people are even astonished when told that it’s an extinct bird!
The eternal Mauritian ambassador is unflinchingly preserving the positive and paradisiac image of our country abroad.
Faithful to the idyllic and magnifying portrait of Mark Twain, who after visiting the island in 1896 said that, “Mauritius was made first and then heaven; and heaven was copied after Mauritius”.
Centuries later, our Dodo is still serving that old model somewhat hiding the “darker” side of the “force”.
The Star of the Indian Ocean seems from time to time slipping towards Dark Vader rather than seeking advice from Master Yoda especially in times of turmoil.
It is still honestly serving Mauritius for free!
That really shows that our Dodo is extinct. The picture is quite different nowadays.
The Star has somewhat lost its brilliance despite its economic and commercial success.
It is now a financial, air transport, medical and commercial hub.
But there’s still more to be done to spare our nation the image of a “degraded governance”.
In the meantime, our Dodo is everywhere, in all forms, on all supports, on our Coat of Arms, banners, posters, t-shirts, mugs…
A Dodo plush is a must!
A perfect souvenir a visitor or a Mauritian living abroad can take back “home”.
To remember an untarnished “parenthèse” bringing strong emotions like in the scene of Spielberg’s E.T when the alien wants to go Home.