In October 2005 Dutch researchers discovered a mass-grave of Dodo birds on the island of Mauritius. In June 2006 an international team of scientists returned to the location for further study. A new party from the Leiden museum Naturalis plans to return to Mauritius in August 2007 for more research.
The Dodo grave on Mauritius may be the largest such natural cache of animal bones in the world. Few such graves are found on volcanic islands, making the Mauritius cache even more remarkable.
The team from Naturalis plans to further excavate the bones, which lie one meter underground, by draining the soil. This special method of excavation will allow scientists to determine the age of the bone cache with more accuracy.
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