London, Sep 5 (IANS) Dodo, an extinct flightless bird that existed in the forests of Mauritius, was last seen in Oxford in Britain, claims a new book.

British author Michael Johnson found a 300-year-old diary at a charity store in Oxford. It belonged to a young scientist in Oxford University who said he was given a dodo by a drunk Dutchman he had met at a pub.

Though he was lent the pet for sometime, a few days later the Dutchman was found dead in the Thames.

The last recorded date in the diary was in 1683.

Johnson, 45, has now published a book, naming it 'A Dodo At Oxford: The Unreliable Account Of A Student And His Pet Dodo'.

'I saw the book in my local Oxfam store. A member of staff said a man had dropped if off in a dirty brown paper package tied up with a bootlace just a few days before.

'I'd love to be able to say the diary is genuine but I don't have enough proof. That's why the authenticity is left open, it's up to the reader to decide for themselves if it's fake or if there is a chance, albeit tiny, that the last dodo on earth roamed Oxford and not Mauritius,' he was quoted as saying by the Sunday Express.

The tale has led historians and scientists to challenge its authenticity. Many believe the book is nothing but a flight of fancy.