Dodo (extinct)
The dodo was a flightless bird found only on Mauritius that went extinct around 1680, and its story is one of the most famous extinction events in all of natural history.
Flag of Mauritius
Field Report
Mauritius is a small, mountainous island sitting in the middle of the Indian Ocean, thousands of miles from any continent, where the warm water is clear blue and the land is covered in sugarcane fields and tropical forests. It is famous as the only home the dodo bird ever knew, and today it is home to about 1.3 million people whose families came from many different parts of the world. Most people in Mauritius have not yet trusted in Jesus as their Savior, which makes it an important place to learn about and pray for.
From the Field Notebook
Dodo (extinct)
The dodo was a flightless bird found only on Mauritius that went extinct around 1680, and its story is one of the most famous extinction events in all of natural history.
Mauritius Kestrel
Once down to only four known individuals in the wild, the Mauritius kestrel is a small falcon that made one of the most remarkable comebacks of any bird species ever studied.
Pink Pigeon
The pink pigeon is a soft rose-colored bird found nowhere else on Earth, and it lives in the forested highlands of Mauritius where it feeds on leaves, flowers, and fruit.
Dholl Puri
Dholl puri is a thin, soft flatbread stuffed with ground yellow split peas and is considered by many Mauritians to be the island's most beloved street food.
Rougaille
Rougaille is a rich, spiced tomato-based sauce cooked with onions, ginger, and chilies that is served over rice or with bread at everyday family meals across the island.
Gateau Piment
Gateau piment, which means chili cake, is a small deep-fried fritter made from split peas and hot chilies that vendors sell fresh and hot from roadside carts.
Mauritius is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean, roughly 1,200 miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, and it has no land neighbors — the nearest island country is Réunion, just 110 miles away.
The island was completely uninhabited by humans until Arab sailors and then Dutch explorers arrived in the 1500s and 1600s, making it one of the last places on Earth where people settled.
Mauritius is home to people whose ancestors came from India, Africa, China, France, and other parts of the world, which is why you can hear Creole, French, Hindi, Tamil, and Mandarin spoken on the same small island.
The flag of Mauritius has four horizontal stripes of red, blue, yellow, and green, and each color stands for a different part of the nation's identity — the red represents the struggle for independence, which was achieved in 1968.
Mauritius sits on a mostly submerged ancient landmass called Mauritia, a fragment of the supercontinent Gondwana, which means the rocks beneath the island are far older than the volcanic island itself.
Daily Life
73
Years life expectancy
94%
Can read and write
95%
Kids go to school
Missions Field Report
Mauritius is home to 12 distinct people groups — 5 of them haven’t yet heard about Jesus.
About half of Mauritius's people follow Hinduism (44.9%). Evangelical Christians make up about 9.8% of the population.
What People Believe
Unreached People Groups
These are communities of people who haven’t had the chance to hear about Jesus yet. They need missionaries — and they need kids like you to pray for them.
Hindi
36,000 people
Punjabi
25,000 people
South Asian, Telugu-speaking
19,000 people
Jewish, Marathi-speaking
17,000 people
South Asian, Bengali-speaking
7,100 people
Prayer Journal
Tick each one as you pray. God hears every word.