Dodo comes back to life with £500,000 price on its head
The dodo is the first ever to be sold at auction and the first almost complete skeleton to come up for sale in 100 years.
It will be sold at the fourth evolution sale to be held by Summers Place Auctions at The Walled Garden in Billingshurst. The auction house will be open to the public on Sunday, (November 20) for the sale preview.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdErrol Fuller, Summers Place Auctions’ natural history curator said: “I am sure I won’t be the only dodo expert who thinks this is an amazingly rare opportunity to acquire one of the great icons of extinction.”
The dodo came from a private collector, who over decades bought bones from private collections and auctions. It was only in the early 2000s he realised he had enough bones - only lacking part of the skull and one set of claws - which have been reconstructed- to build a skeleton.
“The Dodo only lived on the island of Mauritius,” said Errol. “First seen by Dutch sailors in September 1598, it became extinct 70 years after its discovery and epitomises what can go wrong when humans interfere with an island ecosystem.”
It is unlikely another skeleton will ever come up for auction as newly discovered bones from Mauritius where the vast majority of Dodo bones were found in the 19th century – will not be for sale. The Mauritian Government has banned all exports.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDon’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.
Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.
1) Make our website your homepage
2) Like our Facebook page
3) Follow us on Twitter
4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.
And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!
Always the first with your local news.
Be part of it.