Sorry for not responding, the answer was the demise of the Dodo's on Mauritius. Portugese sailors came across them in the early part of the seventeenth century and had eaten them all by the late seventeenth century. Bet they tasted like chicken !
Credit goes to sddsddean who answered this on a previous postingof mine., This was a belt and braces posting , again apologies for not responding.
Thanks for letting us know the answer oldmisery, (and putting us, out of our misery, it's always nice to find out the "real" answer to teaser questions).
However, I still think weecalf's answer was a goodun.