 Many endemic species of Mauritius became extinct after the arrival of humans , so the ecosystem of the island is badly damaged and hard to reconstruct . Before humans arrived , Mauritius was entirely covered in forests , but very little remains of them today , because of deforestation . The surviving endemic fauna is still seriously threatened . The dodo lived alongside other recently extinct Mauritian birds such as the flightless red rail , the broad @-@ billed parrot , the Mascarene grey parakeet , the Mauritius blue pigeon , the Mauritius owl , the Mascarene coot , the Mauritian shelduck , the Mauritian duck , and the Mauritius night heron . Extinct Mauritian reptiles include the saddle @-@ backed Mauritius giant tortoise , the domed Mauritius giant tortoise , the Mauritian giant skink , and the Round Island burrowing boa . The small Mauritian flying fox and the snail Tropidophora carinata lived on Mauritius and Réunion , but vanished from both islands . Some plants , such as Casearia tinifolia and the palm orchid , have also become extinct . 
