The gift ‘Dodo’ is a statue of the Dodo bird, Raphus cucullatus. The Dodo bird was related to pigeons and doves, lived on fruit, and nested on the ground. It is widely known that the Dodo is an extinct flightless bird hailing from Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Also well-known is the phrase “dead as a dodo,” which means it’s a non-starter topic. 

The Dodo has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century. The extinction of the dodo bird occurred during recorded human history and was directly attributable to human activity. The sign of the dodo is used on many Mauritius products and is now used to promote protection for endangered species by environmentalists.  

On 11 Sep 2002, a small replica of the gift was given on behalf of Government and Citizens of Mauritius by Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, H.E. Anerood Jugnauth, to the United Nations and was accepted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The larger gift was installed by the Permanent Mission of Mauritius to the United Nations on 11 March 2003 and the plaque cites the original replica given in the previous year.