The scariest Halloween story for today was not written by me, but by humanity itself.

The Lesson of the Dodo

First sighted around 1600, it took humans less than 80 years to push the Dodo to extinction. The Dodo’s demise was primarily caused by the destruction of its forest habitat. Introduced cats, rates, and pigs, along with humans, ate this flightless bird and its eggs. Although humans may have been known to cause the extinction of many other animal species before the Dodo, it was the first time in recorded history that humans realized their actions caused its extinction.

The last recorded living Dodo was seen in 1681.

(Author of plaque and sculptor unknown.)