Dodo skeleton on display at Jersey department store

An "extremely rare" skeleton of a dodo is on display at de Gruchy's department store in Jersey.

A spokesman for de Gruchy said the skeleton was believed to be one of only four left in the world and would be on display until 16 April.

It is launching the store's annual challenge to raise £10,000 for a local charity.

John Marquis, store manager, said Durrell had been selected by staff as the chosen charity for 2012.

He said the store planned to set up an area dedicated to selling merchandise, entry tickets and adoption packs to raise awareness of Durrell's work.

Dr Lee Durrell, Durrell's honorary director, said: "We won't compromise on our conservation projects, which put us under continued financial pressure.

"It is with the support of organisations like de Gruchy and the broader community that we continue to undertake our field-work and maintain our wildlife park and training centre in Trinity.

"Giving our charity prime position on the high street, using the dodo to represent the challenges we face daily, is a huge boost to Durrell. We can't thank de Gruchy enough for this opportunity."

Durrell said it was 350 years since the last recorded sighting of the dodo.
(from BBC)