In 1755, some seventy years after the last dodo's death, the director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford decided that the institution's stuffed dodo was becoming unpleasantly musty and ordered it tossed on a bonfire. This was a surprising decision as it was by this time the only dodo in existence, stuffed or otherwise. A passing employee, aghast, tried to rescue the bird but could save only its head and part of one limb.
In 1755, seventy years post the extinction of the dodo, the Ashmolean Museum's director deemed its only preserved specimen too musty and ordered it to be burned. This shocking decision was particularly striking since the dodo was the last of its kind, making its preservation critical.
Fortunately, a passing employee intervened at the last moment in a desperate attempt to save what he could, managing to rescue only the bird's head and a part of its limb. This incident highlights both the carelessness regarding extinct species and the importance of preserving history.
